What Predicts Career Adaptability?: An Application of Achievement Goal Theory and Adult Attachment Theory

Abstract

Extensive research has documented the impressive individual and organizational benefits that come with high levels of career adaptability (CA). At the current time, however, only the fixed dispositional traits underpinning CA have been investigated. In this study, I contributed to existing literature by drawing upon achievement goal theory and adult attachment theory to test a model where several malleable psychosocial constructs predicted CA levels. To test this model, a cross-sectional study was conducted, with 210 respondents from three organizations completing a self-report questionnaire. Analyses of the data collected yielded support for some, but not all, of the hypothesized relationships. Most notably, the results indicated that mastery goal adoption predicts CA, but only when individuals feel that their supervisor supports their career autonomy. The findings also suggested that anxious, but not avoidant, attachment negatively predicts CA. The practical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.