Author(s)

Lin Xie ¹, Quanwei Shen ¹, Bin Gao ², Wei Jia ³

Affiliation(s)

¹ School of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Xuhui, Shanghai, China
² School of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Xuhui, Shanghai, China
³ School of Teacher Education, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu, Henan, China

Corresponding Author

Lin Xie

ABSTRACT

At present, the global economy is in a downward spiral, and China's employment environment has been affected by epidemic, economic, social and other factors, presenting an unprecedentedly complex situation, which makes the employment environment of fresh college student group full of challenges. Most of the previous studies on economic confidence have focused on the consumer, financial and economic sectors, mainly involving consumers and investors in the market. However, few studies have explored the relation between economic confidence and Career Decision Self-Efficacy (CDSE) among college student group in China, and little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms of this relation. Based on the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), the present study examined the effects of economic confidence among 636 Chinese college students from Hubei and Chongqing, as well as the roles of career optimism and career social support in it. The results indicate that: (1) Economic confidence not only directly and positively predicts CDSE but also indirectly predicts it through career optimism; (2) High levels of career social support can serve as a protective factor for economic confidence on CDSE and career optimism. The present study helps to reveal the internal mechanism by which economic confidence affects CDSE, which is useful for educating and guiding college students to adopt an active job-seeking attitude. In addition, the present study selected Chinese college students during the economic downturn as a research sample, extending the SCCT model at the era-specific and culture-specific levels.

KEYWORDS

Economic Confidence, Career Decision Self-efficacy, Career Optimism, Career Social Support, College Students

CITE THIS PAPER

Lin Xie, Quanwei Shen, Bin Gao, Wei Jia, Economic Confidence and Career Decision Self-efficacy in Chinese College Students: The Mediating Role of Career Optimism and the Moderating Role of Career Social Support. Population, Resources & Environmental Economics (2025) Vol. 6: 52-60. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/pree.2025.060108.

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