The Role of Family Influence and Academic Satisfaction on Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy and Happiness.

Orhan Koçak,Sezer Seçkin Erdem,Mustafa Z Younis,Mehmet Sinan,Namık Ak,Abdullah Erdoğan

doi:10.3390/ijerph18115919

Abstract

Careers are a reality of life that need to be considered as multi-dimensional in today’s modern societies. Choosing a career is a complex process that coincides with high school and university ages, creating psycho-social stress. Considering the literature, the effects of different environmental factors have been revealed in separate studies. This study examines both individual and environmental factors together. By adopting a quantitative research method, we collected cross-sectional data through online questionnaires from 1130 university students. The association of family influence and academic satisfaction with happiness through career decision self-efficacy was meaningful using gender, age, income, and parents’ education as control variables. Family influence and academic satisfaction were positively correlated with career decision self-efficacy and happiness. In conclusion, we found that family influence and support, students’ work, and academic satisfaction are positively significant in terms of the career process and happiness. It was understood that the career reality should be considered with a holistic view that includes family, school, and work experience.

Highlights

We aimed to find the predictors of career decision self-efficacy (CDSE) such as demographic variables, family influence, and academic satisfaction and, their impact on the happiness of individuals
It was found that family influence, academic satisfaction, parents’ education level, and working experiences significantly affected career decision self-efficacy and happiness
It was found that career decision self-efficacy had a mediating effect and parents’ education had a moderating effect between dependent variables and happiness

Summary

Introduction

Career expectations have become an essential concept in professional life and have been defined by many researchers with different perspectives. Among these definitions, different definitions range from career being the sum of work, family, and school processes to being a lifestyle [1,2,3,4]. A common definition is that a career is a process that continues during an individual’s developmental period and throughout life [5,6,7]. A career is a component of all processes before, during, and after the choice of profession, including making an effort to be successful, and succeeding during these periods using various resources

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Conclusion