Career-Related Parental Support, Vocational Identity, and Career Adaptability: Interrelationships and Gender Differences

We examined relationships among career-related parental support, vocational identity, and career adaptability in a sample of 1,163 Chinese technical college students. Structural equation modeling of the relationship between career-related parental support and students' career adaptability revealed positive mediation effects of three types of vocational identity (career commitment making, identification with career commitment, and in-depth career exploration). In contrast, career self-doubt exhibited a negative mediation effect. Multigroup structural equation modeling showed that there were stronger relationships in male-identified students than in female-identified students between career-related parental support and career commitment and career exploration. Among male-identified students, in contrast to female-identified students, there was a significant and negative association between career self-doubt and concern, and there was a positive association between in-depth career exploration and concern. These results have implications for supporting parents in facilitating children's career adaptability. Future research could identify the differential effects of paternal and maternal support on career adaptability.