Career Adaptability and Unemployment Anxiety in Turkish Senior Undergraduate Students: The Mediating Role of Career Stress

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to reveal the mediating role of career stress in the relationship between career adaptability and unemployment anxiety. A total of 410 senior undergraduate students, 308 females (73.7%) and 110 males (26.3%), participated in this study. The ages of the participants ranged from 18 to 36 years with a mean age of 22.25 (SD:1.87). The data were collected using the Personal Information Form, the Career Adaptability Scale, the Career Stress Scale, and the Unemployment Anxiety Scale. The fit of the model was assessed using the path analysis technique. Also, the bootstrapping analysis was performed to provide evidence for the significance of the mediating effect in the model. The findings of the research confirmed that career uncertainty and lack of information partially mediated the relationship between career discovery and unemployment anxiety. Furthermore, the findings revealed that career uncertainty, lack of information, and pressure of finding a job fully mediated the relationship between career plan and unemployment anxiety. The results were discussed in the framework of the literature and the recommendations were proposed.

Keywords

• Career Adaptability
• Career Stress
• Unemployment Anxiety

References

1. Alioat, S. K. H., & El Keshky, M. E. S. A. Cognitive flexibility as the mediator between unemployment anxiety and psychological wellbeing among university students with disabilities. Arts and Humanities, 28, 299-321. http://dx.doi.org/10.4197/Art.28-14.10
2. Barlow, D. H. (1988). Anxiety and its disorders: The nature and treatment of anxiety and panic. Guilford Press.
3. Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173-1182. https://doi.org/0022-3514/86/S00.75
4. Borkovec ,T. D. (1985). Worry: a potentially valuable concept. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 23(4), 481-483.
5. Choi, S. H., & Lee, H. Y. (2013). Affecting factors in unemployment stress among college students-focused on physical symptoms, depression, anxiety and self-esteem. Korea Contents Association Journal, 13(12), 808-816. http://dx.doi.org/10.5392/JKCA.2013.13.12.808
6. Choi, B. Y., Park, H., Nam, S. K., Lee, J., Cho, D., & Lee, S. M. (2011). The development and initial psychometric evaluation of the Korean Career Stress Inventory for college students. The Career Development Quarterly, 59, 559-572. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2011.tb00976.x
7. Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24(4), 385-396. https://doi.org/10.2307/2136404
8. Creed, P. A., Fallon, T., & Hood, M. (2009). The relationship between career adaptability, person and situation variables, and career concerns in young adults. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 74, 219-229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2008.12.004

9. Emilien, G., Durlach, C., Lepola, U., & Dinan, T. (2002). Anxiety disorders: pathophysiology and pharmacological treatment. Birkhauser Verlag.
10. Eryılmaz, A., & Kara, A. (2016). Investigation of psychometric properties of Career Adaptability Scale. The Online Journal of Counseling and Education, 5(1), 29-39. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323869909
11. Eryılmaz, A., & Kara, A. (2018). Öğretmen adayları için bir kariyer uyumluluk modeli [A career adaptability model for pre-service teachers]. Erzincan University Educational Faculty Journal, 20(2), 352-365. https://doi.org/10.17556/erziefd.322596
12. Fiori, M., Bollmann, G., & Rossier, J. (2015). Exploring the path through which career adaptability increases job satisfaction and lowers job stress: The role of affect. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 91, 113-121. https://core.ac.uk/reader/77152980
13. Hammarström, A., & Janlert, U. (1997). Nervous and depressive symptoms in a longitudinal study of youth unemployment-selection or exposure? Journal of Adolescence, 20(3), 293-305. https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.1997.0086.
14. Han, H., & Rojewski, J. W. (2015). Gender-specific models of work-bound Korean adolescents’ social supports and career adaptability on subsequent job satisfaction. Journal of Career Development, 42(2), 149-164.
15. Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Second Edition. The Guilford Press.
16. Helpman, E. (2010). Labor market frictions as a source of comparative advantage, with implications for unemployment and inequality. NBER Working Paper 15764. http://www.nber.org/papers/w15764.
17. Herr, E. L. (1989). Career development and mental health. Journal of Career Development, 16, 5-18. https://doi.org/10.1177/089484538901600102
18. Jia, Y., Hou, Z.-J., Zhang, H., & Xiao, Y. (2020). Future time perspective, career adaptability, anxiety, and career decision-making difficulty: Exploring mediations and moderations. Journal of Career Development. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845320941922
19. Kara, A., Altınok, A., & Şahin, C. (2019). Career adapt-abilities and career calling as a predictor of unemployment concerns for university senior grade students. MANAS Journal of Social Studies, 8(3), 2294-2307.
20. Kıcır, B. (2010). Unemployment worry of university last year sudents: A study about psychological factors [Unpublished master's thesis]. Ankara University, Institute of Social Sciences.
21. Kıcır, B. (2017). Educated youth unemployment and unemployment worry. Work and Society, 3, 1369-1396. https://doi.org/10.31014/aior.1993.05.01.440
22. Konstam, V., Celen-Demirtas, S., Tomek, S., & Sweeney, K. (2015). Career adaptability and subjective well-being in unemployed emerging adults: A promising and cautionary tale. Journal of Career Development, 42, 463-477. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845315575151
23. Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer
24. Maggiori, C., Johnston, C. S., Krings, F., Massoudi, K., & Rossier, J. (2013). The role of career adaptability and work conditions on general and professional well- being. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(3), 437-449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2013.07.001
25. Özden, K., & Sertel-Berk, Ö. (2017). Reliability and validity study of Turkish version of the Korean Career Stress Inventory (KCSI). Studies in Psychology, 37(1), 35-51. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/407171
26. Paul, K. I., & Moser, K. (2009). Unemployment impairs mental health: Meta-analyses. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 74(3), 264-282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2009.01.001.
27. Pouyaud, J., Vignoli, E., Dosnon, O., & Lallemand, N. (2012). Career Adapt-Abilities Scale-France Form: Psychometric properties and relationships to anxiety and motivation. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(3), 692–697. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2012.01.021
28. Rottinghaus, P. J., Day, S. X., & Borgen, F. H. (2005). The Career Futures Inventory: A measure of career-related adaptability and optimism. Journal of Career Assessment, 1, 3-24. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072704270271
29. Rudolph, C. W., Katz, I. M., Lavigne, K. N., & Zacher, H. (2017). Job crafting: A meta-analysis of relationships with individual differences, job characteristics, and work outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 102, 112-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2017.05.008
30. Savickas, M. L. (1997). Career adaptability: An integrative construct for life-span, life-space theory. Career Development Quarterly, 45, 247–259. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.1997.tb00469.x
31. Savickas, M. L. (2005). The theory and practice of career construction. In S. D. Brown, & R. W. Lent (Eds), Career development and counselling: Putting theory and research to work (pp. 42-70). Wiley
32. Savickas, M. L. (2013). The theory and practice of career construction. In S. D. Brown, & R. W. Lent (Eds), Career development and counselling: Putting theory and research to work (pp. 147-183). Wiley.
33. Savickas, M. L., & Porfeli, E. J. (2012). Career Adapt-Abilities Scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countries. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(3), 661-673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2012.01.011
34. Shah, S. (2019). Wellness and unemployment in the modern age: A phenomenological study [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. https://search.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/wellness-unemployment-modern-age-phenomenological/docview/2155413736/se 2?accountid=11054
35. Shrout, P. E., & Bolger, N. (2002). Mediation in experimental and non-experimental studies: New procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods, 7(4), 422-445. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.7.4.422
36. Stoltz, K. B., Wolff, L. A., Monroe, A. E., Farris, H. R., & Mazahreh, L. G. (2013). Adlerian lifestyle, stress coping, and career adaptability: Relationships and dimensions. The Career Development Quarterly, 61(3), 194-209. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2013.00049.x
37. Taşğın, Ö., Bozgeyikli, H., & Boğazlıyan, E. E. (2017). The relationship between university students’ unemployment anxiety and their psychological resilience. Hak İş International Journal of Labour and Society, 6(16), 551-567.
38. Tekin, A. N. (2015). The unemployment anxiety of university students: A research on Süleyman Demirel University students [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Süleyman Demirel University, Social Sciences Institute. https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/tezSorguSonucYeni.jsp
39. Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., & Müller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research Online, 8(2), 23-74. http://www.mpr-online.de
40. Tekin-Tayfun, A. N., & Korkmaz, A. (2016). The unemployment anxiety of university students: A research on Süleyman Demirel University students. Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Social Sciences Institute Journal, 8(17), 534-558. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/makusobed/issue/45268/567048
41. Tsai, C, Hsu, H., & Hsu, Y. (2017) Tourism and hospitality college students’ career anxiety: Scale development and validation, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 29, 4, 158-165. https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2017.1382365
42. TSI (2019). Labour force statistics micro data set. https://www.tuik.gov.tr/media/microdata/pdf/isgucu.pdf
43. Vignoli, E. (2015). Career indecision and career exploration among older French adolescents: The specific role of general trait anxiety and future school and career anxiety. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 89, 182-191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.06.005.
44. Yun, I. H. (2016). Majoring in social work majors satisfaction, career adaptability, career identity, employability, ego-resilience research on the effect of careers stress: Focusing on the latent mean analysis by gender. Journal of The Korea Academia-Industrial Cooperation Society, 17(6), 308-314. http://dx.doi.org/10.5762/KAIS.2016.17.6.308