Research Article

The Moderating Role of Optimism in the Relationship Between Academic Self-Efficacy and Unemployment Anxiety: An Explainable AI Approach

Volume: 9 Number: 2 October 25, 2026
TR EN

The Moderating Role of Optimism in the Relationship Between Academic Self-Efficacy and Unemployment Anxiety: An Explainable AI Approach

Abstract

The growing number of university graduates and limited employment opportunities increase students’ concerns about future employment. This study examined the relationship between academic self-efficacy and the pessimism and lack of self-confidence dimension of unemployment anxiety and tested whether optimism moderated this relationship. The sample consisted of 447 students from Isparta University of Applied Sciences selected through convenience sampling. Descriptive statistics, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and path analysis were used to test the moderation model. The results showed that academic self-efficacy did not have a statistically significant direct association with pessimism and lack of self-confidence, whereas optimism showed a strong negative association. The interaction between academic self-efficacy and optimism was significant. Simple slope analysis indicated that academic self-efficacy was associated with lower pessimism and lack of self-confidence at higher levels of optimism, whereas this association was not statistically significant at lower levels of optimism. To complement the inferential analyses, explainable artificial intelligence techniques, including permutation importance, SHAP, and partial dependence analysis, were used to examine predictive patterns. The XAI findings highlighted the prominence of optimism-related features and more heterogeneous predictive contributions of academic self-efficacy. Overall, the findings suggest that the relationship between academic self-efficacy and employment-related pessimism and lack of self-confidence is conditional on students’ level of optimism.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

No financial support was received for the conduct of this research.

Ethical Statement

This paper complies with Research and Publication Ethics, has no conflict of interest to declare, and has received no financial support. The article has been checked for spelling and plagiarism/similarity. The article was evaluated by "at least two external referees" and "double blinding" method. For the scale used in the article, it is declared by the authors that permission was obtained from the original owner of the scale. The author(s) sent a signed "Copyright Transfer Form" to the journal. Regarding the conduct of this research, an “Ethics Permission Certificate” dated 15/01/2026 and numbered 222/12 was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the University of Isparta Applied Sciences. / During the preparation of this work the author(s) did not use AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing processes. Authors acknowledged that this study has not been published or submitted to any publication outlets for publication. The author contributed to all sections and stages of the study alone.

References

  1. ALANSARI, Bader M. and KAZEM, Ali Mahdi (2008), "Optimism and Pessimism in Kuwaiti and Omani Undergraduates", Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, V.36(4), pp.503–518, https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2008.36.4.503
  2. ARTINO Jr., Anthony R. (2012), "Academic Self-Efficacy: From Educational Theory to Instructional Practice", Perspectives on Medical Education, V.1(2), pp.76–85. https://doi.org/10.1007/S40037-012-0012-5
  3. BANDURA, Albert (1977), "Self-Efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change", Psychological Review, V.84(2), pp.191–215. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191
  4. BANDURA, Albert (1994), "Self-Efficacy", Encyclopedia of Human Behavior (Ed. Vilayanur Subramanian Ramachandran), Academic Press, New York, pp.71–81.
  5. BANDURA, Albert (1997), Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control, W. H. Freeman and Company Press, New York.
  6. BANDURA, Albert (2012), "Social Cognitive Theory", Handbook of Theories of Social Psychology (Eds. Paul A. M. Van Lange, Arie W. Kruglanski, E. Tory Higgins), Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, pp.349–374.
  7. BROWN, Steven D. and LENT, Robert W. (2006), "Preparing Adolescents to Make Career Decisions: A Social Cognitive Perspective", Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Adolescents (Eds. Frank Pajares, Timothy C. Urdan), Information Age Publishing, Greenwich, pp.201–224.
  8. BYRNE, Barbara M. (2016), Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS: Basic Concepts, Applications, and Programming, Routledge Publishing, New York.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Organisational Behaviour

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

October 25, 2026

Submission Date

September 6, 2026

Acceptance Date

October 24, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 9 Number: 2

APA
Özdemir, K. (2026). The Moderating Role of Optimism in the Relationship Between Academic Self-Efficacy and Unemployment Anxiety: An Explainable AI Approach. Uluslararası Yönetim Akademisi Dergisi, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.33712/mana.2033880
AMA
1.Özdemir K. The Moderating Role of Optimism in the Relationship Between Academic Self-Efficacy and Unemployment Anxiety: An Explainable AI Approach. Uluslararası Yönetim Akademisi Dergisi. 2026;9(2). doi:10.33712/mana.2033880
Chicago
Özdemir, Kutay. 2026. “The Moderating Role of Optimism in the Relationship Between Academic Self-Efficacy and Unemployment Anxiety: An Explainable AI Approach”. Uluslararası Yönetim Akademisi Dergisi 9 (2). https://doi.org/10.33712/mana.2033880.
EndNote
Özdemir K (October 1, 2026) The Moderating Role of Optimism in the Relationship Between Academic Self-Efficacy and Unemployment Anxiety: An Explainable AI Approach. Uluslararası Yönetim Akademisi Dergisi 9 2
IEEE
[1]K. Özdemir, “The Moderating Role of Optimism in the Relationship Between Academic Self-Efficacy and Unemployment Anxiety: An Explainable AI Approach”, Uluslararası Yönetim Akademisi Dergisi, vol. 9, no. 2, Oct. 2026, doi: 10.33712/mana.2033880.
ISNAD
Özdemir, Kutay. “The Moderating Role of Optimism in the Relationship Between Academic Self-Efficacy and Unemployment Anxiety: An Explainable AI Approach”. Uluslararası Yönetim Akademisi Dergisi 9/2 (October 1, 2026). https://doi.org/10.33712/mana.2033880.
JAMA
1.Özdemir K. The Moderating Role of Optimism in the Relationship Between Academic Self-Efficacy and Unemployment Anxiety: An Explainable AI Approach. Uluslararası Yönetim Akademisi Dergisi. 2026;9. doi:10.33712/mana.2033880.
MLA
Özdemir, Kutay. “The Moderating Role of Optimism in the Relationship Between Academic Self-Efficacy and Unemployment Anxiety: An Explainable AI Approach”. Uluslararası Yönetim Akademisi Dergisi, vol. 9, no. 2, Oct. 2026, doi:10.33712/mana.2033880.
Vancouver
1.Kutay Özdemir. The Moderating Role of Optimism in the Relationship Between Academic Self-Efficacy and Unemployment Anxiety: An Explainable AI Approach. Uluslararası Yönetim Akademisi Dergisi. 2026 Oct. 1;9(2). doi:10.33712/mana.2033880

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