Testing a self-regulation model of career adaptability in late adolescence

Abstract

Objectives: We viewed career adaptability in late adolescence as management of career concerns about future career, and hypothesised that concerns were the product of person and situation, and mediated by self-regulatory strategies. Method: We assessed concerns, self-regulatory strategies, goal orientation and social support in a large sample of university students. Results: We found that goal orientation and social support were associated with concerns, that self-regulation was associated with concerns, and that self-regulation mediated between disposition, support and concerns. Conclusions: Career adaptability at this age can be fruitfully viewed as the application of self-regulation strategies to the management of career concerns.