Career Adaptability and Academic Achievement Among Chinese High School Students: A Person-centered Longitudinal Study

Career adaptability, essential for high school students' career development, is closely associated with academic achievement. However, it is still unclear whether there exist multiple subgroups among Chinese high school students that exhibit distinct combinations of the career adaptability dimensions and whether these subgroups display significant differences in academic achievement. Using latent profile analysis, this study identified career adaptability profiles in Chinese high school students and examined their effects on academic achievement through a longitudinal design. Chinese high school students (Wave 1: N = 1783, 42.9% boys, Mage = 15.17, SD = 0.86; Wave 2: N = 1395, 42.9% boys, 82.4% science students, Mage = 16.19, SD = 0.88) completed a packet of measures on two occasions at eight-month intervals. Career adaptability was assessed at Wave 1, and academic achievement was assessed at Wave 2. Five distinct career adaptability profiles were identified: (1) Low control and confidence; (2) Below average; (3) Control dominant and low confidence; (4) Above average; (5) High. Profiles of career adaptability displayed significant differences in academic achievement. High, Above average, and Control dominant and low confidence students' achievements were significantly higher than Low control and confidence students. These findings indicate that students with an overall high level of career adaptability or more robust career control are more likely to achieve higher academic achievement. In addition, level (average scores of all dimensions across different profiles) and shape (distinct forms displayed by the specific combination of dimensions) effects exist in the influence of career adaptability profiles on academic achievement. This highlights the dynamic and diverse nature of adolescent career development within the Chinese high school context.

Socio-emotional skills profiles and their relations with career exploration and perceived parental support among 8th grade students

Socio-emotional skills can play a crucial role in students career development. This study used a person-centered approach to explore socio-emotional skills (curiosity, optimism, empathy, sociability, and responsibility) profiles among 8° grade students (N = 310). We also explored the relations of these profiles with career exploration (self and environmental), perceived parental support (emotional support, instrumental assistance, career-related modeling, and verbal encouragement) and school achievement. Using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), four distinct profiles emerged that differed in terms of level and shape, namely: Other and Task oriented profile, Socio-emotional Adaptive profile, Socio-emotional non-Adaptive profile, Self- Oriented profile. Our results show that the "Socio-emotional Adaptive" profile can be clearly differentiated from the "Socio-emotional non-Adaptive" profile given the higher values it presents regarding all the variables in study. However, the differences between the "Other and Task Oriented" profile and "Self-Oriented" profile (intermediate profiles) were analyzed and discussed from qualitative point-of-view and adopting an exploratory approach. Overall, the findings of this study indicate that socio-emotional profiles have the potential to account for variations in career behaviors and academic performance. These results provide valuable insights for the development and implementation of career-oriented interventions targeted at 8th grade students and their immediate relational environments.

Prospective association between perceived stress and anxiety among nursing college students: the moderating roles of career adaptability and professional commitment

BACKGROUND

Anxiety may stay with nursing students throughout their internship and even persist afterwards. Although many studies have explored the effects of perceived stress on anxiety, the relationship between pre-internship perceived stress and post-internship anxiety levels has not been clarified. In addition, none had focused on the moderating roles of career adaptability and professional commitment between perceived stress and anxiety. This study aims to investigate the influence of pre-internship perceived stress on the post-internship anxiety level of nursing college students, and to analyze the moderating effects of career adaptability and professional commitment on their relationships.

METHODS

A longitudinal study design was employed. Full-time nursing college students from a Chinese medical university were recruited by convenient sampling. All surveys were conducted via Wen Juan Xing ( www.wjx.cn ), a widely used web-based survey platform in China. Two waves of surveys were collected in the pre-internship and post-internship periods, with an interval of one year. Among 823 nursing students recruited, 692 students completed all two waves of the survey (response rate: 84.08%). Participants completed a series of questionnaires examining general demographic characteristics, perceived stress, anxiety, career adaptability, and professional commitment both before and after the internship. The bias-corrected bootstrap technique of the Hayes PROCESS macro (Model 2) was used to test the moderation effect.

RESULTS

Pre-internship perceived stress was positively associated with post-internship anxiety (β = 0.474, p < 0.001). Career adaptability would mitigate the effect of perceived stress on anxiety (β = -0.009, p < 0.01, 95% CI = [-0.013, -0.004]), and this influence became stronger for nursing college students with higher levels of career adaptability. Instead, the professional commitment would enhance the effect of perceived stress on anxiety (β = 0.004, p < 0.05, 95% CI = [0.001, 0.009]).

CONCLUSIONS

Adequate career adaptability was key to alleviating anxiety among nursing interns. Nursing educators and clinical nursing managers should pay attention to cultivating the career adaptability of nursing college students in order to help them successfully achieve identity transformation and career development. Meanwhile, it is crucial to guide them to develop appropriate professional commitment.

A network approach to the relationship between career adaptability and starting salary among graduates

Career adaptability is a psychological resource for individuals to deal with career events, and it is a system of human-environment interaction. The components of the career adaptability concept are not independent of each other but rather an interactive network. The present study aims to shed light on the nomological network of career adaptability and the starting salary by investigating their indicators using network analysis to reveal their structural networks and interrelationships. In addition, we compared the similarities and differences between the networks of different gender groups. Results indicate that career adaptability directly connects to starting salary for graduates, and some indicators are the core factors that influence starting salary. Besides, the global structure of gender-specific networks is very similar. However, some differences have been detected, such as becoming curious about new opportunities is the male network's core, while the core of the female network is doing the right thing.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-023-04655-5.

Cross-sectional study of the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and career adaptability of Chinese youths

BACKGROUND

Young people often experience dramatic changes, both psychologically and physically, as they are transiting from students to working adults. However, there is still a lack of empirical studies on the relationship between the trait emotional intelligence and the career adaptability of youths in the Asia-Pacific region. This research examines that relationship in Chinese youths in Hong Kong.

METHOD

Cross-sectional data (N = 500) was collected from two universities in 2019 and 2020. The 2019 sample was made up of 256 Chinese university students (117 males, 139 females; ages 21-25). The 2020 sample included 244 Chinese university students (132 males, 112 females; ages 21-25). The participants were asked to complete the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS) to evaluate their emotional intelligence in the domains of self-emotion appraisal, other people's emotion appraisal, regulation of emotion, and use of emotion. Participants completed the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) to assess their career adaptability in the areas of concern, control, curiosity, and confidence.

RESULTS

All domains of trait emotional intelligence were positively associated with career adaptability. Multiple Regression analysis showed that self-emotion appraisal and appraisal of other people's emotional were the most predictive factors in terms of career adaptability. Together, these two dimensions of emotional intelligence explain 12.5%, 26.2%, 13.4% and 69.4% respectively of the variance in students' concern, control, curiosity, and confidence in relation to career adaptability.

CONCLUSION

The results highlight the importance of emotional intelligence in career adaptability. It is thus of value to study further whether career adaptability of young people may improve if emotional intelligence is incorporated into the student curriculum. The findings offer valuable insights for educators and teachers who are responsible for well-rounded development of students, and will thereby foster healthy lifestyles, stable emotional well-being and greater career adaptability in adolescents.