Career adaptability among business undergraduates in Hong Kong : the influences of self-esteem, career-related filial piety, social support and gender

Abstract

There has been a recent surge of interest in the concept of career adaptability in vocational psychology research. Career adaptability refers to an individual’s capacity to cope with the changes, challenges, tasks and transitions that occur during a working life. Career adaptability manifests itself through four self-regulated internal resources available for coping with occupational challenges. These resources have been identified as concern, control, curiosity and confidence. Career adaptability is a very important competence, but surprisingly, prior research has seldom examined the variables affecting career adaptability in undergraduates. To address this issue, the present study drew upon career construction theory and the ecology of human development to investigate three possible influences on Hong Kong business undergraduates’ career adaptability. These influences were: (i) reciprocal piety and authoritarian career-related filial piety (cultural influences); (ii) self-esteem (a personal attribute); and (iii) social support as perceived by the individual (a social influence). This study also explored the interplay among the variables of self-esteem, perceived social support and career adaptability to determine if perceived social support acts as a mediator, and if gender affects this mediating role. As an important part of the data collection process, the study also examined the psychometric properties of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale - China Form (CAAS-China) and Career-related Filial Piety Scale (C-FPS) to validate these two measures in the Hong Kong social setting. At the same time, the students completed questionnaires covering self-esteem and perceived social support. The research involved two cross-sectional studies. Study One was the process of validating the Chinese language instruments to be used in Study Two. The first study involved a sample of 89 Business Studies undergraduates from a local university. Results showed that all instruments yielded good to excellent reliability (internal consistency) and that the items were easily understood by the students. In Study Two, 522 Business Studies undergraduates [nmale = 162; nfemale =360] completed questionnaires for the study. The data obtained from this larger sample indicated that career-related reciprocal filial piety was quite important for these respondents and was a significant (but weak) predictor of all four dimensions of career adaptability. However, these students did not perceive that authoritarian filial piety was particularly important, and it had no significant influence on their career adaptability. The data also indicated that self-esteem was a strong predictor of career adaptability, and that in the female undergraduates this relationship was partially mediated by perceived social support. The findings provide career counsellors, teachers and parents with new insight concerning the impact of cultural, social and personal influences on career adaptability. Theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.