Fight back against the stress: The effects of parental job insecurity on career networking behaviors of emerging adults.

Abstract

This study investigates whether and how parental job insecurity motivates emerging adults' career networking behaviors. Using the framework of ecological system theory, we particularly focus on the sequential mediating role that overparenting behavior and emerging adults' intolerance of uncertainty could play. We recruit 741 fresh undergraduates (63.2% females) and their parents from the city of Jinan, Province Shandong in China. All of the participants are between the ages of 17 and 20 years. We apply a structural equation model using data obtained from multiple sources (i.e., fathers, mothers, and their children) at two time points to test our research model. The results from the structural equation model support the spillover effect of paternal and maternal job insecurity on overparenting behavior. Overparenting is significantly related to emerging adults' intolerance of uncertainty. In turn, emerging adults' intolerance of uncertainty is positively associated with their career networking behavior. The results also support the indirect effect, which demonstrates that parental job insecurity indirectly leads to emerging adults' career networking behavior via overparenting behavior and emerging adults' intolerance of uncertainty. This study builds on and extends existing research on parental job insecurity and career networking behavior by systematically bringing together the streams of research on youth development and organizational behavior. Specific theoretical implications and limitations are discussed as well.