Career adaptability: A meta-analysis of relationships with measures of adaptivity, adapting responses, and adaptation results

Male student nurses need more support: Understanding the determinants and consequences of career adaptability in nursing college students

This study examined how proactive personality, career decision-making self-efficacy, and social support influence career adaptability among higher vocational college students in Sichuan Province, China. Guided by Career Construction Theory and Social Cognitive Career Theory, the research addressed a critical gap in understanding the interplay of individual traits and contextual factors in shaping career readiness within Chinese vocational education. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 382 students selected through proportional stratified random sampling across four institutions. Validated instruments were used to measure each construct, and data were analysed using Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression. The results showed that all three predictors were significantly and positively related to career adaptability: proactive personality (??=?.24, p?<?.001), career decision-making self-efficacy (??=?.23, p?<?.001), and social support (??=?.37, p?<?.001). The full model accounted for 53% of the variance in career adaptability, with social support emerging as the strongest predictor. These findings reinforce the applicability of both Career Construction Theory and Social Cognitive Career Theory in non-Western, collectivist contexts and underscore the combined developmental and environmental influences on vocational students’ career outcomes. Practically, the study highlights the need for integrated, student-centred interventions that strengthen proactive behaviours, enhance self-efficacy, and build supportive networks to promote adaptable and confident career transitions.

PurposeCivil service workers are valuable resources for any nation and play a crucial role in driving their country’s economic development. Per the supervisor, this research examines the impact of mindfulness, proactive personality, and career competencies on employee job performance. The study also analyzes the effects of career adaptability and identity on this aspect.Design/methodology/approachTo test the model of this study, questionnaires were administered to a sample of 500 civil service employees whose career-based knowledge and skills were measured in various cities in the province of Punjab, Pakistan.FindingsMindfulness and career competencies significantly impact supervisor-rated task performance, whereas a proactive personality does not substantially relate to supervisor-rated task performance. Research indicated that the two hypotheses about mediation were accepted. However, career adaptability does not play a significant role in the link between mindfulness and how well a supervisor rates task performance. Regarding moderation, career identity did not significantly moderate the relation between proactive personality and supervisor-rated task performance. However, the other two moderate hypotheses have been proven to be significant.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings offer compelling support for career construction theory (CCT) in this study area by analyzing the connections related to career adaptability and identity within the framework. In the future, researchers can build on this model by adding theories like conservation of resources (COR), looking into possible moderators that might change specific pathways in this network of relationships and using longitudinal designs to find stronger causal relationships.Originality/valueConsidering the evolving workplace due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the study offers fresh perspectives on the post-COVID situation, understanding and integrating various variables. For future studies, more variables can be explored in this model with the expansion of sample size and change of context.

PurposeBased on a combination of career construction theory (CCT) and conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study proposes and examines a serial mediation model connecting proactive personality with supervisor-rated task performance sequentially through career adaptability and job engagement.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 177 supervisor–subordinate dyads in the United States participated in the multisource survey, and structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. The proposed indirect effects were evaluated using a bootstrap procedure.FindingsResults indicated that career adaptability mediated the relationship between proactive personality and job engagement, job engagement mediated the relationship between career adaptability and supervisor-rated task performance and career adaptability and job engagement sequentially mediated the relationship between proactive personality and supervisor-rated task performance.Research limitations/implicationsThrough an examination of the nomological network pertaining to career adaptability, the results provide strong evidence in support of integrating CCT with COR theory in this research stream. Future studies should continue to expand upon the model presented here by considering potential moderators that might influence certain paths within this relationship network and use longitudinal designs to allow for stronger causal inferences.Practical implicationsGiven the central role proactive personality plays in career construction and job engagement, organizations should encourage workers to be more proactive while on the job. This may help engender career adaptability and work engagement among employees – ultimately contributing to organizational success.Originality/valueThis study responds to calls linking career adaptability to supervisory ratings of work performance. In doing so, it advances the literatures on proactive personality and career adaptability by highlighting the importance of considering the tenets of both CCT and COR theory.

Understanding the trait basis of career adaptability: A two-wave mediation analysis among Chinese university students

Reaching full employment and reducing the unemployment rate is one of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) issued by the United Nations to face COVID-19 and the complex global economic situation. Although governments, society, and organizations have made efforts towards SDGs, how employees exert their subjective initiative and enhance their career adaptability is fundamental to solve the employment issue. How to enhance employees’ career adaptability to strengthen their psychological ability to face career changes is the guarantee of sustainable employment. In the light of the main force role and the unique characteristics of the new generation of employees in the workplace, this study aims to explore the relation between a proactive personality and career adaptability. According to the career construction theory, this study constructed a moderated mediation model to test the effect of a proactive personality on career adaptability through career identity and thriving at work, and the moderating role of task interdependence. Surveying 285 new-generation employees in China, this research found that a proactive personality had a significant positive impact on career adaptability, and that career identity and thriving at work mediate the relation. Task interdependence moderated this relation. Our findings extend the research of career construction theory on individual factors and contextual factors, and offer insights into enhancing the sustainability of human resource management and supporting sustainable economic development.

BackgroundResilience, career decision self-efficacy, and career adaptability are university students’ important personal resources in coping with the challenges they face in the career development process. No longitudinal studies have examined the relationships and possible mediating mechanisms between these resources. Therefore, based on career construction theory, the current study aims to explore the longitudinal relationships between resilience, career decision self-efficacy, and career adaptability and to examine if career decision self-efficacy has a mediating role in the relationship between resilience and career adaptability.MethodsThe participants of the study consisted of 376 (239 female, 137 male; MAge=20.87, SDAge =1.83) university students who responded to the online survey in both times (T1 and T2). Data were collected through self-report questionnaires and analyzed using a cross-lagged panel model.ResultsThe findings of the study showed that while resilience at T1 significantly predicted career decision self-efficacy at T2, career decision self-efficacy at T1 significantly predicted career adaptability at T2 in university students. The results of the cross-lagged panel model also showed that career decision self-efficacy played an important mediating role in the longitudinal relationship between resilience and career adaptability.ConclusionsThis longitudinal study is believed to advance research based on career construction theory by contributing to a better understanding of the longitudinal relationship between resilience and career adaptability through mediating mechanisms. The study also emphasizes the importance of strengthening university students’ personal resources in their career development process. The findings of the study indicate important implications for both theoretical and career counseling practices.

Background In recent years, group psychological counseling based on positive psychology and career construction theory has been regarded as an effective path to enhance college students' career abilities due to its advantages in providing social support and promoting cognitive restructuring. However, existing research focuses more on single skills or short-term effects, without considering the analysis of college students' career abilities from this perspective. Therefore, a thorough analysis of the role of psychological counseling teams in shaping the career abilities of college students is needed. The research aims to explore a feasible intervention method for college career education. Methods A study selected 120 students who met the criteria to participate in a test at a certain university. Randomly divided into intervention group and control group, with 60 people in each group. The testing period is 10 weeks, during which the control group does not receive any psychological intervention treatment. The intervention group received a 60 minute group counseling session once a week. The group is divided into 4 small groups, each consisting of 15 people, led by professional psychological counselors. The group program is designed based on positive psychology and career construction theory. The measurement indicators include the Career Adaptation Abilities Scale (CAAS) and the Career Decision Making Self Efficiency Scale Sport Form (CDMSE-SF). The evaluation time is one week before the intervention, one week after the intervention, and three months after the intervention. Results One week before the intervention, there were no statistically significant differences (p>.05) in gender, grade, CAAS total score, CDMSE-SF total score, and group atmosphere scale score between the intervention group and the control group, indicating successful randomization and comparability between the two groups. The CAAS scores of the intervention group one week and three months after the intervention were significantly higher than those of the previous week (p<.001), and significantly higher than those of the control group during the same period (p<.001). There was no significant change in the three time points within the control group. The CDMSE-SF total score of the intervention group showed a significant improvement (p<.001) one week and three months after the intervention, and was significantly higher than that of the control group during the same period (p<.01). Multi level linear model analysis shows that the perceived group cohesion and interpersonal learning level of members can positively predict the rate of improvement in their career adaptability and career decision-making self-efficacy during the intervention period (p<.01). Discussion Psychological counseling group therapy based on positive psychology and career construction theory can effectively promote the comprehensive improvement of college students' career adaptability and decision-making self-efficacy, and the effect has good sustainability. This method can be used as a standardized and manual intervention tool for university psychological counseling centers or employment guidance departments. Future research could adopt more refined physiological or cognitive neural measurements to further analyze the impact of psychological counseling group therapy on career decision-making related brain function.

The Double-Edged Sword Effects of Career Calling on Occupational Embeddedness: Mediating Roles of Work–Family Conflict and Career Adaptability

Career construction theory (CCT) asserts that a substantial degree of career adaptability (CA) correlates with favorable outcomes when individuals undergo different environments. Building upon the theoretical framework of the CCT, our study hypothesized that the nexus between CA and life satisfaction (LS) as an outcome of adaptation is mediated by future orientation (FO) and career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE). We gathered data from 317 graduates in Greater Cairo, Egypt. The data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) via WarpPls 7.0 software. Our findings indicate a positive correlation between CA and LS and a positive link between CA and FO and CDMSE. Additionally, FO and CDMSE were found to be positively related to LS. However, contrary to the expectations, FO was not identified as a mediating factor between CA and LS, while CDMSE did serve as a mediator between CA and LS. Based on these results, managers can provide workshops and training opportunities to enhance graduates’ confidence and assist them in developing plans, ultimately leading them to increased satisfaction in life.

Linking hospitality and tourism students’ internship satisfaction to career decision self-efficacy: A moderated-mediation analysis involving career development constructs

The aim of this study was to extend previous findings on antecedents of career adaptability in adolescence. Drawing on career construction theory and the distal-proximal theory of motivation, we investigated the mediating role of core self-evaluations in the relationship between basic personality traits and career adaptability in adolescence. The study included 1793 Croatian high-school students from 18 high schools who attended first to third grade. Path analysis revealed that adolescents? higher core self-evaluations partially accounted for the predictive effects of extraversion and conscientiousness on their career adaptability. Conscientiousness and extraversion were positively related to core self-evaluations, which, in turn, were related to higher career adaptability. There was also a very small but significant indirect effect of students? openness to experience on their career adaptability via core self-evaluations. Conscientiousness, extraversion, and openness to experience were directly and positively related to career adaptability. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Career construction theory proposes that high career adaptability leads to positive adaptation outcomes during career transition. However, the specific pathways of how this happens remain underexplored. Drawing on the career construction model of adaptation, we hypothesized that career decision-making self-efficacy mediates the link of career adaptability with vocational identity clarity and life satisfaction as two measures of adaptation outcomes. We conducted a three-wave survey with an initial sample of 3126 Czech upper-secondary vocational graduates transitioning from vocational school to the labor market. Structural equation modeling revealed that career decision-making self-efficacy fully mediated the relationship between career adaptability before graduation and vocational identity clarity 20 months later. In contrast, the mediation effect of career decision-making self-efficacy on the relationship between career adaptability and life satisfaction was not supported. Additionally, in contrast to the previous literature, career adaptability was not directly related to vocational identity clarity and life satisfaction. Nevertheless, our findings demonstrated a positive long-term association of career adaptability with adaptation outcomes within the working life domain. Practical implications and future directions are discussed.

Adolescent students’ meaning in life is an important topic of research in positive psychology and educational psychology. Meaning in life is of outstanding value to the whole career development of Chinese higher vocational college students (CHVCS), and parental behaviors have a profound impact on CHVCS’ meaning in life. In order to explore the mechanism of the role of career-specific parental support in promoting CHVCS’ meaning in life from the perspective of career, this study was based on career construction theory (CCT) and investigated 2498 CHVCS. The results showed that (1) career-specific parental support could directly and positively influence meaning in life; (2) core self-evaluations, career exploration, and career adaptability individually played a partially mediating effect in the relationship between career-specific parental support and meaning in life; (3) “core self-evaluations + career exploration”, “core self-evaluations + career adaptability”, “career exploration + career adaptability”, and “core self-evaluations + career exploration + career adaptability” play a partial chain mediating effect in the relationship between career-specific parental support and meaning in life. This study contributes to meaning in life in CHVCS, enriches career-related research based on CCT, and has important implications for career counseling from a construct perspective.

Drawing upon the career construction theory and the trait activation theory, the present study first aims to uncover the interactive effect of core self-evaluation (CSE) and ethical leadership on career adaptability. In addition, the authors examined how career adaptability mediates the interaction effect of CSE and ethical leadership on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Two-wave data from 156 employees were collected in a manufacturing company over a one-month interval. Results showed that ethical leadership moderated the relationship between CSE and career adaptability. Specifically, the positive relationship between CSE and career adaptability was stronger when ethical leadership was low. Moreover, career adaptability mediated the relationship between CSE and OCB, and ethical leadership moderated this indirect relationship. We discuss implications for career adaptation and organizational effectiveness.