The Relationships of Self-Esteem, Future Time Perspective, Positive Affect, Social Support, and Career Decision: A Longitudinal Multilevel Study

Abstract

This study aimed, first, to determine whether the intra-individual variability in positive affect was related to the intra-individual variability in career decision-making self-efficacy, and career choice anxiety. The second objective was to examine whether social support moderates the relationship between affect and these outcome variables. The third objective was to find out how career decision-making self-efficacy and career choice anxiety change according to self-esteem and future time perspective. We conducted a study using the daily diary method in which participants were asked to rate their affect or attitudes for 21 consecutive days. In total, 128 university students participated in this study. The main results were as follows. First, positive affect was associated positively with career decision-making self-efficacy and negatively with career choice anxiety. Second, social support had a synergy effect with positive affect to influence career choice anxiety. Third, self-esteem was related positively to career decision-making self-efficacy and negatively to career choice anxiety. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.

Affect in Daily Career Decision Self‐Efficacy and Career Choice Anxiety

“…Accordingly, future studies that consider career‐related variables such as grade, level of career indecision, and degree of career commitment can resolve this issue. To evaluate daily career decision self‐efficacy and daily career choice anxiety, we used Park et al’s (2018) scale. However, they reduced original scales and used those for their study, which might violate content validity.…”

“…The scale comprises five subscales: Occupational Information, Self‐Appraisal, Problem Solving, Planning, and Goal Selection. Of the 25 items, we used five items that were used in Park et al’s (2018) daily study. The five items were as follows: “Choose a major or career that will fit your interests,” “Persistently work at your major or career goal even when you get frustrated,” “Determine the kind of lifestyle you would like,” “Identify employers relevant to your career possibilities,” and “Determine steps to take if you’re having academic trouble with your major.” The selected items represent five factors, including selecting goals, solving problems, behaviors pertinent to self‐appraisal, gathering occupational information, and making plans, respectively.…”

“…Marteau and Bekker (1992) reported a Cronbach’s alpha of .82 for the scale. Park et al (2018) translated this scale from English into Korean to research daily career decisions. The response format was a 7‐point Likert‐type scale ranging from 1 ( not at all ) to 7 ( very much ).…”

“…According to previous studies, positive situational affect, and not trait affect, influences the decision process (Isen & Means, 1983). Specifically, positive affect is related to career engagement, career decision self‐efficacy, and career maturity (e.g., Hirschi & Freund, 2014; Park, Kim, Kwon, & Lee, 2018). A recent study showed that career decision‐making variables continue to change as positive affect changes (Park et al, 2018).…”

How Can Personality Enhance Sustainable Career Management? The Mediation Effects of Future Time Perspective in Career Decisions

“…These results contribute to an enhanced understanding of the relationship between personalities and career decisions, and they expand our knowledge about the antecedents and consequences of FTP. At the end of this paper, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this study and identify directions for future research.In recent years, increasing research has focused on the relationship between personality factors and career decisions, demonstrating the important role of personality factors in facilitating individuals' career decisions [8][9][10][11]. However, little is known about why personalities predict career decisions.…”