Grit and Career Construction among Chinese High School Students: The Serial Mediating Effect of Hope and Career Adaptability

Abstract

Career construction is a crucial developmental task of adolescence. Previous research widely examined predictors of career construction resources but rarely explored the antecedents of career construction behaviors. Based on the career construction model of adaptation, this study explored how adolescents’ grit affects career construction behaviors. Data were collected from a cross-sectional survey. Participants were 573 students (Mage = 15.34, SD = 0.51; 51% boys) drawn from two public high schools. The results showed that grit positively predicted students’ career construction. Meanwhile, hope and career adaptability mediated the association between grit and career construction. The serial mediation analysis indicated that students with high grit tended to report a high level of hope, which increased career adaptability and consequently promoted career construction. This study contributes significant knowledge of how precise interventions can be developed for high school students to assist them to cope with career challenges.