Abstract
While the benefits of proactive personality to college students’ self-efficacy have been recognized, college students with relatively high proactive personality may not always exhibit higher levels of career decision self-efficacy (CDSE). To address this gap, this study examined the mediation effect of positive affect in the relationship between proactive personality and CDSE, and the moderated effects of social class and gender in the mediating model among 371 Chinese college students (229 females). Results showed that proactive personality was positively contributed to CDSE via positive affect. Furthermore, the positive effects of proactive personality on positive affect were stronger in the group with a higher subjective social class and among female students, respectively. The study contributed to the knowledge of how and when proactive personality affected Chinese college students’ self-efficacy in career development, and provided practical career guidance for improving their CDSE.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of Data
The datasets produced or studied during in this work are received from the first author upon reasonable request.
References
Adler, N. E., Epel, E. S., Castellazzo, G., & Ickovics, J. R. (2000). Relationship of subjective and objective social status with psychological and physiological functioning: Preliminary data in healthy white women. Health Psychology, 19(6), 586–592. https://doi.org/10.1037//0278-6133.19.6.586.
Bandura, A. (1989). Human agency in social cognitive theory. American Psychologist, 44(9), 1175–1184. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.44.9.1175.
Bateman, T. S., & Crant, J. M. (1993). The proactive component of organizational behavior: A measure and correlates. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 14, 103–118. https://doi.org/10.2307/2488028.
Beller, J. (2023). Loneliness and mortality: The moderating effect of positive affect. Applied Psychology-Health and well-being, 15(1), 49–65. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12354.
Betz, N. E., Klein, K. L., & Taylor, K. M. (1996). Evaluation of a short form of the career decision-making self-efficacy scale. Journal of Career Assessment, 4(1), 47–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/106907279600400103.
Cai, H., Huang, Z., Lin, L., Zhang, M., Wang, X., & Jing, Y. (2020). The psychological change of the chinese people over the past half century: A literature review. Advances in Psychological Science, 28(10), 1599–1618. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1042.2020.01599.
Chen, B., Zuo, Y., & Zhao, Y. (2018). The relationship between subjective social class and aggression: A serial mediation model. Personality and Individual Differences, 131, 174–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.04.036.
Chen, S., Chen, H., Ling, H., & Gu, X. (2021). How do students become good workers? Investigating the impact of gender and school on the relationship between career decision-making self-efficacy and career exploration. Sustainability, 13, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147876.
Chinese National Bureau of Statistics (2022). The national economy continued to recover in July Retrived from: http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/zxfb/202208/t20220815_1887338.html.
Choi, B. Y., Park, H., Yang, E., Lee, S. K., & Lee, S. M. (2012). Understanding career decision self-efficacy: A meta-analytic approach. Journal of Career Development, 39(5), 443–460. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845311398042.
Creed, P. A., Sawitri, D. R., Hood, M., & Hu, S. (2021). Career goal setting and goal pursuit in young adults: The role of financial distress. Journal of Career Assessment, 48(6), 801–816. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845319897136.
Demakakos, P., Nazroo, J., Breeze, E., & Marmot, M. (2008). Socioeconomic status and health: The role of subjective social status. Social Science & Medicine, 67(2), 330–340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.03.038.
Duffy, R. D., Autin, K. L., & Douglass, R. P. (2016). Examining how aspects of vocational privilege relate to living a calling. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(4), 416–427. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2015.1092570.
Eshelman, A. J., & Rottinghaus, P. J. (2015). Viewing adolescents’ career futures through the lenses of socioeconomic status and social class. The Career Development Quarterly, 63(4), 320–332. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12031.
Fan, W., Cheung, F. M., Leong, F. T. L., & Cheung, S. F. (2014). Contributions of family factors to career readiness: A crosscultural comparison. The Career Development Quarterly, 62, 194–209. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2014.00079.x.
Flores, L. Y., Navarro, R. L., & Ali, S. R. (2017). The state of SCCT research in relation to social class: Future directions. Journal of Career Assessment, 25, 6–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072716658649.
Frear, K. A., Paustian-Underdahl, S. C., Heggestad, E. D., & Walker, L. S. (2019). Gender and career success: A typology and analysis of dual paradigms. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40, 400–416. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2338.
Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1O37//0OO3-O66X.56.3.218
Green, Z. A., Noor, U., & Hashemi, M. N. (2020). Furthering proactivity and career adaptability among university students: Test of intervention. Journal of Career Assessment, 28(3), 402–424. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072719870739.
Hayes, A. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York: The Guilford Press.
Hayes, A. (2017). Partial, conditional, and moderated moderated mediation: Quantification, inference, and interpretation. Communication Monographs, 85(1), 4–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637751.2017.1352100.
He, K., Wang, J., & Sun, M. (2022). Is job insecurity harmful to all types of proactivity? The moderating role of future work self salience and socioeconomic status. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.839497.
Hirschi, A., Lee, B., Porfeli, E. J., & Vondracek, F. W. (2013). Proactive motivation and engagement in career behaviors: Investigating direct, mediated, and moderated effects. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83, 31–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2013.02.003.
Howell, R. T., & Howell, C. J. (2008). The relation of economic status to subjective well-being in developing countries: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 134(4), 536–560. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.134.4.536.
Hsien, H. H., & Huang, J. T. (2014). The effects of socioeconomic status and proactive personality on career decision self-efficacy. The Career Development Quarterly, 62, 29–43. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2014.00068.x.
Jiang, Z. (2014). Emotional intelligence and career decision-making self-efficacy: National and gender differences. Journal of Employment Counseling, 51, 112–124. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1920.2014.00046.x.
Kim, H. S., & Park, I. (2017). Influence of proactive personality on career self-efficacy. Journal of employment counseling, 54, 168–182. https://doi.org/10.1002/joec.12065.
Kirby, E. G., Kirby, S. L., & Lewis, M. A. (2002). A study of the effectiveness of training proactive thinking. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32, 1538–1549. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb01451.x.
Kraus, M. W., Piff, P. K., Mendoza-Denton, R., Rheinschmidt, M. L., & Keltner, D. (2012). Social class, solipsism, and contextualism: How the rich are different from the poor. Psychological Review, 119, 546–572. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028756.
Kuang, L., Zheng, W., Lin, C., Yang, M., & Liu, L. (2011). The relationship between economic confidence and career decision making self-efficacy of college students: The moderator effects of attribution and proactive personality. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 43(9), 1063–1074. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1041.2011.01063.
Lazarides, R., Rohowski, S., Ohlemann, S., & Ittel, A. (2016). The role of classroom characteristics for students’ motivation and career exploration. Educational Psychology, 36(5), 992–1008. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2015.1093608.
Lent, R. W., & Brown, S. D. (2013). Social cognitive model of career self-management: Toward a unifying view of adaptive career behavior across the life span. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60(4), 557–568. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033446.
Lent, R. W., Ezeofor, I., Morrison, M. A., Penn, L. T., & Ireland, G. W. (2016). Applying the social cognitive model of career self-management to career exploration and decision-making. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 93, 47–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.12.007.
Lent, R. W., Ireland, G. W., Penn, L. T., Morris, T. R., & Sappington, R. (2017). Sources of self-efficacy and outcome expectations for career exploration and decision-making: A test of the social cognitive model of career self-management. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 99, 107–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2017.01.002.
Levin, N., Braunstein-Bercovitz, H., Lipshits-Braziler, Gati, I., & Rossier, J. (2020). Testing the structure of the career decision-making difficulties questionnaire across country, gender, age, and decision status. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 116, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.103365.
Li, J., Xin, C., & Yu, G. L. (2016). A meta-analysis of career decision-making selfefficacy of college students. Chinese Journal of Applied Psychology, 22(1), 48–57. https://doi.org/10.1006-6020(2016)-01-0048-10
Li, M., Liu, Y., Liu, L., & Wang, Z. (2017). Proactive personality and innovative work behavior: The mediating effects of affective states and creative self-efficacy in teachers. Current Psychology, 36, 697–706. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-016-9457-8.
Li, M., Fan, W., Cheung, F., & Wang, Q. (2019). Reciprocal associations between career self-efficacy and vocational identity: A three-wave longitudinal study. Journal of Career Assessment, 27(4), 645–660. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072718796035.
Li, H., Yu, X., Mei, Y., Liu, X., Li, L., & Luo, N. (2021). The effect of grit on career adapatbility of chinese college students based on the self-regulatory processes. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.795153.
Li, M., Bian, Q., Fan, W., & Chen, X. (2023). The development of School satisfaction in chinese early adolescents: The contributions of peer liking and academic performance. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 52(2), 359–369. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01701-6.
Liu, W. M., Ali, S. R., Soleck, G., Hopps, J., Dunston, K., & Pickett, T. (2004). Using social class in counseling psychology research. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51(1), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.51.1.3.
Metheny, J., & Mcwhirter, E. H. (2013). Contributions of social status and family support to college students’ career decision self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Journal Of Career Assessment, 21(3), 378–394. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072712475164.
Ministry of Education of China (2019). Healthy China Action-The Action Plan for Mental Health of Children and adolescents (2019–2022). Retrived from: http://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb_xxgk/moe_1777/moe_1779/202007/t20200728_475479.html.
Park, I. J., Hai, S., Akkermans, J., & Verbruggen, M. (2021). Positive affect and career decision-making: The moderating role of interpersonal spin. The Career Development Quarterly, 69(1), 49–62. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12248.
Qiao, Z., Zheng, J., Song, H., & Jiang, Y. (2014). The mechanism of occupational segregation: A social dominance perspective. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 46(5), 691–701. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1041.2014.00691.
Qu, K., & Zou, H. (2013). The relationships among family’s socioeconomic status, parental rearing behaviors and career exploration in college students. Psychological development and Education, 29, 500–506. https://doi.org/10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2013.05.005.
Shang, J. Y., & Gan, Y. Q. (2009). Analysis of the effects of the proactive personality on graduates, career decision-making self-efficacy. Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis, 45, 548–554. https://doi.org/10.13209/j.0479-8023.2009.081.
Shin, Y. J., & Lee, J. Y. (2017). Predictors of career decision self-efficacy: Sex, socioeconomic status, classism, modern sexism, and locus of control. Journal of Career Assessment, 26(2), 322–337. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072717692981.
Swanson, J. L., & Schneider, M. (2021). The theory of work adjusment. In S. D. Brown, & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career Development and Counseling: Putting theory and research to work (3th ed., pp. 62–99). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Thompson, M. N., & Dahling, J. J. (2012). Perceived social status and learning experiences in social cognitive career theory. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(2), 351–361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.10.001.
Tian, L., & Gilman, R. (2009). School satisfaction among chinese mainland adolescents. Social Behavior and Personality. An International Journal, 37(8), 1095–1100. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2009.37.8.1095.
Walker, T. L., & Tracey, T. J. G. (2012). The role of future time perspective in career decision-making. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 81, 150–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2012.06.002.
Wang, P., Zhang, L., Wang, X., Geng, J., Gao, X., Ma, J., & Jiao, R. (2018). Career exploration and decision self-efficacy scale: Factorial structure and validity. Journal of College Student Development, 59, 475–478. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2018.0043.
Wu, J., Dong, Y., Xiong, J., & Cao, Y. (2016). The mediating role of achievement motivation between college students’ proacitve personality and career adaptability and its gender differences. Psychological development and Education, 32, 547–556. https://doi.org/10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2016.05.05.
Xin, L., Tang, F., Li, M., & Zhou, W. (2020). From school to work: Improving graduates’ career decision-making self-efficacy. Suntainability, 12, 804–819. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12030804.
Zhang, H., Zhao, L., & Guo, F. (2016). A portrait of first-generation college students in China: An analysis based on the China College Student Survey. Tsinghua Journal of Education, 37(6), 72–79. https://doi.org/10.14138/j.1001-4519.2016.06.007207.
Zhang, L., Fan, W., Wang, Z., Wang, X., & Yu, C. (2021). The antecedent role of proactive personality in career self-management. Journal of College Student Development, 62(3), 351–356. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2021.0042.
Zhang, L., Fan, W., & Li, M. (2022). Proactive personality and entrepreneurial intention: Social class’ moderating effect among college students. The Career Development Quarterly, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12308.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Social Science Fund of China--Education (Grant number no. BIA210175).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval
This work got permission from the Ethics Committee of Shanghai Normal University.
Informed Consent
Informed Consent was received from all individuals who participated in this study.
Conflict of Interest
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, L., Wang, X., Fan, W. et al. Contributions of proactive personality to career decision self-efficacy: mediating effect of positive affect and moderating roles of social class and gender. Curr Psychol 43, 9164–9175 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05014-0
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05014-0