TY - JOUR
T1 - Am I Gonna Get a Job? Graduating Students’ Psychological Capital, Coping Styles, and Employment Anxiety
AU - Belle, Michelle A.
AU - Antwi, Collins O.
AU - Ntim, Seth Y.
AU - Affum-Osei, Emmanuel
AU - Ren, Jun
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Curators of the University of Missouri 2021.
PY - 2022/10
Y1 - 2022/10
N2 - Thoughts about life after school can be frightening for college students. The uncertainty about employment expectancies can engender crippling anxiety, especially in a time of a major pandemic—COVID-19, and urgent attention is needed. This study, drawing on the self-determination theory, demonstrates preliminary protective effect of positive psychological capital (PsyCap) on employment anxiety among a relatively understudied group—graduating college students (Chinese sample = 546). It further illustrates the mediating mechanism of coping styles in this relation. Thus, the motivational impetus of PsyCap facilitates positive coping style (PCS) while diminishing negative coping style (NCS) which, in turn, hinders students’ employment anxiety. Furthermore, the results revealed that students’ internship experience strengthens the influence of graduating students’ PsyCap on their PCS, but that with NCS and anxiety was nonsignificant. This research proffers valuable insights on college students’ from-school-to-work transition for higher education institutions and career counselors, particularly in this turbulent labor market.
AB - Thoughts about life after school can be frightening for college students. The uncertainty about employment expectancies can engender crippling anxiety, especially in a time of a major pandemic—COVID-19, and urgent attention is needed. This study, drawing on the self-determination theory, demonstrates preliminary protective effect of positive psychological capital (PsyCap) on employment anxiety among a relatively understudied group—graduating college students (Chinese sample = 546). It further illustrates the mediating mechanism of coping styles in this relation. Thus, the motivational impetus of PsyCap facilitates positive coping style (PCS) while diminishing negative coping style (NCS) which, in turn, hinders students’ employment anxiety. Furthermore, the results revealed that students’ internship experience strengthens the influence of graduating students’ PsyCap on their PCS, but that with NCS and anxiety was nonsignificant. This research proffers valuable insights on college students’ from-school-to-work transition for higher education institutions and career counselors, particularly in this turbulent labor market.
KW - coping styles
KW - employment anxiety
KW - graduating students
KW - positive psychological capital
KW - student internship experience
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106728316&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/08948453211020124
DO - 10.1177/08948453211020124
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85106728316
SN - 0894-8453
VL - 49
SP - 1122
EP - 1136
JO - Journal of Career Development
JF - Journal of Career Development
IS - 5
ER -