Examining a Sequential Mediation Model of Chinese University Students' Well-Being: A Career Construction Perspective

Career Adapt-Abilities Scale: Reliability Generalization Meta-Analysis

The concept of career adaptability emerged from the broader field of career development theory and has received increasing attention in the past two decades. To measure career adaptability, there are different scale development studies in the literature, but the most widely used and preferred one is the Career Adapt-abilities Scale developed by Savickas and Porfeli. Therefore, in the present study, the general reliability of the Career Adapt-abilities Scale was measured through meta-analysis. One hundred forty nine study (N = 82519) were included in the analyses. For the CAAS overall score, the average reliability coefficient among the 171 reliability estimations was high. However, reliability estimates in the studies included in the research show high heterogeneity. As a result of the moderator analysis, it was concluded that reliability estimates of these scores differ by item level, culture, language, category of items, different forms of CAAS, age, and SD. Regarding the application of the CAAS in research, the consequences of these findings are discussed in light of the relevant literature.

Longitudinal test of the social cognitive model of well-being among Chinese college students

Since the social cognitive model of well-being in academic\work settings was proposed, more and more studies have supported its validity. Nevertheless, most studies failed to test the temporal precedence of its core variables related to individual career development. Thus, we aimed to test this model among 1512 Chinese college students with a longitudinal perspective. They completed the Career-related Parental Support Inventory, Career Exploration and Decision Self-Efficacy-Brief Decision Scale, Career Commitment Making Scale, and Multiple Happiness Questionnaire three times being a four-month interval. The result indicated that there were more positive predicting associations between career-related parental support, career decision self-efficacy (CDSE), career commitment making, and well-being. Moreover, the longitudinal mediation analyses indicated that T1 career-related parental support was linked to T3 well-being via T2 career commitment making, and that T1 CDSE was linked to T3 well-being via T2 career commitment making. The implications of these findings for further research, practices, and policy-making were discussed.

A Test of the Career Construction Theory Model of Adaptation with Turkish Final Year Undergraduate Students

The primary purpose of this study was to test career construction theory’s model of adaptation among Turkish undergraduate students in their final year. Additionally, the Career Commitment Scale was adapted for Turkish university students to ensure its appropriateness as a measure in testing the model of adaptation. Data obtained from the first sample (172 undergraduate students) were used to adapt the Career Commitment Scale and data obtained from a second group (243 undergraduate students in their final year) was used to test the career construction theory model of adaptation. The results of the study support the career construction theory’s model of adaptation. Additionally, the eight-item model for the adapted Career Commitment Scale demonstrates good fit and acceptable internal consistency.

A Multiple Mediational Meta-Analysis of the Influence of Proactive Personality on Subjective Career Success at the Career Exploration Stage

Drawing on the career construction theory model of adaptation, this meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) examines the effects of proactive personality on the subjective career success of adolescents and emerging adults. We identified 46 studies that covered 52 independent samples and 24,092 participants through literature retrieval. Based on these studies, we created an integrative model linking proactive personality with career adaptability, student career construction, and subjective career success. The results of the meta-analysis showed that all bivariate relationships among proactive personality, career adaptability, student career construction, and subjective career success were significantly positive. The results of the MASEM indicated that career adaptability intervened in the relationship between proactive personality and subjective career success, but student career construction, as a suppressor, carried out the negative association between proactive personality, career adaptability and subjective career success in the sequence of adaptation. We also discuss the research implications and provide directions for future research.

Risk or Return? The Effect of Face Consciousness Influences on the Career Construction of Chinese Rural Dwellers in Urban Areas

This research improves our understanding of entrepreneurial intention in the Chinese cultural context. Drawing on career construction theory, we received 408 valid surveys from rural Chinese dwellers and examined the relationships rural Chinese have among "face consciousness," indecisiveness, career adaptability, and entrepreneurial intention. We found that those who are fearful of losing face are less likely to have entrepreneurial intentions, but one's desire to gain face has no significant direct impact on entrepreneurial intention. In addition, face consciousness and an indecisive personality interact to influence career adaptability and, in turn, entrepreneurial intention. In sum, this study supports the career construction perspective on understanding the formation of entrepreneurial intention and offers theoretical, practical, and policy implications for entrepreneurial career counseling and training.

Courage, Career Adaptability, and Readiness as Resources to Improve Well-Being during the University-to-Work Transition in Italy

College students approaching a university degree can experience a critical period in their career development path that could affect their well-being. The main aim of this study was to examine the role of courage, career adaptability, and professional readiness as protective factors toward life satisfaction and flourishing during the university-to-work transition. These psychosocial resources could be useful to cope with the recent transformations of the labor market. The study involved 352 Italian university students (M = 100; F = 252), aged from 21 to 29 years (M = 23.57; SD = 2.37), attending the last year of their degree course. The results of the mediation analysis showed that courage plays a mediating role between career transition readiness and career adaptability, on one hand, with well-being indicators as outcomes. The results are discussed, providing some suggestions on practical implications for career interventions to support college students during the university-to-work transition.

Implicit Theories and Engagement in Math Among Chinese Adolescent Students: A Moderated Mediation Model of Intrinsic Value and Academic Self-Efficacy

Recent studies have established associations between students' implicit theories and their academic engagement. However, there is still limited understanding of the potential mechanisms of this relation, and whether it works for students in the context of mathematics as well as in other subjects. The current study aimed to fill this gap by conducting a two-wave survey examining a moderated mediation model concerning the psychological mechanisms that account for the association between students' implicit theories and mathematics engagement. Applying the theoretical framework of implicit theory, we hypothesized that intrinsic value would be a possible mediating variable between students' implicit theories and academic engagement, and that students' academic self-efficacy would moderate the link between implicit theory and intrinsic value. A sample of 710 Chinese adolescent students self-reported their implicit theory, intrinsic value, and academic self-efficacy at Time 1, and engagement in math at Time 2, 12 months apart. After controlling for age and gender, the results revealed positive associations between students' implicit theories and their engagement in math, and intrinsic value partially mediated the relation between implicit theories and engagement in math. Moreover, students' academic self-efficacy moderated the link between implicit theory and intrinsic value. These findings contribute to the understanding of the impact of implicit theory on students' mathematics engagement. Limitations and implications for instructional practices are discussed.

Transformational Leadership, Career Adaptability, and Work Behaviors: The Moderating Role of Task Variety

Career adaptability is a set of individual resources that benefit one’s sustainable development in his/her lifelong careers, especially in today’s turbulent environment. However, how to foster employees’ career adaptability through managerial strategies and eventually contribute to organizations remains to be studied. Guided by the career construction theory, we posit a moderated mediation model that transformational leadership (TFL) could strengthen employees’ career adaptability and further foster their task performance and organization-directed citizenship behavior (OCBO), with task variety moderating the mediation effect. We conducted a three-wave survey with 558 supervisor-employee dyads to test the overall model. The results validated that career adaptability mediated the links between TFL and task performance as well as OCBO. Furthermore, the mediation effect was stronger for employees who had higher levels of task variety. In short, our study offers the groundwork to understand that employees’ career adaptability can be activated by transformational leaders and is self-regulatory to benefit work behaviors in the task variety context. It enlightens organizations to cultivate employees’ career adaptability in the way of TFL and job design, with the objective of promoting the sustainable development for both the employees and the organizations.

A Test of the Career Construction Theory Model of Adaptation in Adult Workers With Chiari Malformation

The present study examined the career construction theory (CCT) model of adaptation using a sample of working adults diagnosed with Chiari malformation. Specifically, we tested a mediation model in which adaptivity (i.e., proactivity, openness, and conscientiousness) fosters adaptability, which conditions adapting (i.e., competence need satisfaction at work), which leads to adaptation (i.e., work well-being and subjective well-being). Results of structural equation modeling supported all of the hypothesized direct and indirect relations between CCT constructs, thus providing strong support for the applicability of the model of adaptation among workers with Chiari malformation. Prior to testing the model of adaptation, we examined and found support for the hypothesized hierarchical structure of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale–Short Form, a recently developed operationalization of career adaptability.