The purpose of this study was to establish a structural model
examining the relationships among positive psychological capital,
disability acceptance, and parental career support behavior among
parents of students with developmental disabilities. Addi...
The purpose of this study was to establish a structural model
examining the relationships among positive psychological capital,
disability acceptance, and parental career support behavior among
parents of students with developmental disabilities. Additionally,
this study aimed to provide foundational data for developing
strategies to enhance parental career support behavior by verifying
the moderating effect of the type of developmental disability.
The participants of this study were parents of students with
developmental disabilities. To recruit the study sample, cooperation
was sought from institutions related to developmental disabilities,
and participants were identified directly through personal networks
or recruited via social media platforms. Through these procedures,
parents of students with developmental disabilities were selected
via purposive sampling, and a questionnaire was administered.
The results of this study are as follows. First, the level of
parental career support behavior was above average, with parents
exhibiting a more active attitude in providing psychological support
rather than informational support. Furthermore, regarding the
sociodemographic characteristics of the parents and children, a
lower level of required daily living support for the child was
associated with a higher degree of parental career support
behavior. Second, the structural relationship model among positive
psychological capital, disability acceptance, and parental career
support behavior demonstrated validity, as the primary
goodness-of-fit indices met acceptable levels. Third, parents'
positive psychological capital had a direct positive effect on career
support behavior. In addition, as this pathway also exerted an
indirect positive effect mediated by disability acceptance, a partial
mediating effect was confirmed. Fourth, no moderating effect was
found based on the child's type of disability (intellectual disability
vs. autism spectrum disorder). In other words, there were no
statistically significant differences across disability types in the
structural relationship where positive psychological capital and
disability acceptance lead to career support behavior.
The practical implications of these findings for promoting career
support behavior among parents of students with developmental
disabilities are as follows. To ensure effective career support for
students with developmental disabilities, it is necessary to alleviate
parents' caregiving burdens and establish a collaborative support
system linking schools and local communities. Furthermore,
emotional and cognitive interventions are required to induce
behavioral changes in parents. Lastly, because the shared burden
of caregiving serves as a more critical factor than differences
between disability types, future career support policies should be
established as comprehensive, integrated services that encompass
all parents of students with developmental disabilities.