Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of career exploration, work values, and career decision-making self-efficacy on career adaptability among Chinese university students, and to verify the mediating role of careerdecision-m...
Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of career exploration, work values, and career decision-making self-efficacy on career adaptability among Chinese university students, and to verify the mediating role of careerdecision-making self-efficacyin these relationships.
Methods A total of 740 university students from four regions in China participated in this study. Literature review, survey, and statistical analysis were conducted. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 25.0 and Process Macro 4.3 to identify the relationships among the study variables and to test causal relationships.
Results TFirst, the sub-factors of career exploration—self-exploration, occupational exploration, and exploration of career alternatives—had a significant positive effect on career adaptability. Second, among work values, intrinsic values enhanced career adaptability, while extrinsic values were not statistically significant.Third, all sub-factors of career decision-making self-efficacy (career information search, self-evaluation, goal selection, future planning, and problem solving) positively influenced career adaptability. Fourth, career decision-making self-efficacy demonstrated a mediating effect in the relationships between career exploration and work values and career adaptability.
Conclusions The findings of this study suggest the necessity of developing an integrated career exploration program, strengthening education on intrinsic work values, and establishing a customized career support system to enhance career decision-makingself-efficacy, ultimately improving career adaptability.