The relationship between social support and employability among university students: a chain mediation model of psychological capital and career adaptability

Vollständiger Abstract

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Introduction To further examine the association between social support and employability among university students and to verify the sequential mediation of psychological capital and career adaptability in this process, the present study administered the Social Support Rating Scale, the Positive Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PPQ), the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS), and the College Students' Employability Self-Assessment Scale to 1765 university students. Methods A total of 1,765 university students completed the self-report questionnaires measuring social support, psychological capital, career adaptability, and employability. Results The results revealed the following: (1) social support, psychological capital, career adaptability, and employability were all significantly and positively correlated with one another ( p < 0.01); (2) Psychological capital and career adaptability played a partial mediating role in the relationship between social support and employability. The unstandardized mediating effect values of the two independent mediation paths were 0.662 and 0.360, respectively, Psychological capital and career adaptability also exerted a significant chain mediating effect on the above relationship, with an unstandardized chain mediating effect value of 0.161. Discussion These findings highlight psychological capital and career adaptability as key mediating mechanisms through which social support fosters employability among university students.