This study examined how a career calling is linked to life satisfaction among undergraduate students in the United States and South Korea. Using structural equation modeling, we tested the mediating role of core self-evaluations, work volition, and work hope on the calling-satisfaction link. Supporting prior research, perceiving a calling was positively correlated with life satisfaction in both groups. However, we found that work volition was a dominant mediator for South Koreans, whereas work hope was a significant mediator for Americans. These findings suggest that a sense of calling links to well-being, but the underlying mechanism of how a calling beneficially functions may differ across culture and situational contexts. Practical implications are suggested for each group and recommendations are provided for further cross-cultural research.
Buyukgoze-KavasA.DuffyR. D.DouglassR. P. (2015). Exploring links between career adaptability, work volition, and well-being among Turkish students. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 90, 122–131. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2015.08.006
2.
ByrneB. M. (2012). Structural equation modeling with Mplus: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
3.
ChanW. (2007). Comparing indirect effects in SEM: A sequential model fitting method using covariance equivalent specifications. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 14, 326–346. doi:10.1080/10705510709336749
4.
ChangC. H.FerrisD. L.JohnsonR. E.RosenC. C.TanJ. A. (2012). Core self-evaluations: A review and evaluation of the literature. Journal of Management, 38, 81–128. doi:10.1177/0149206311419661
5.
ChelminskiP.CoulterR. A. (2007). On market mavens and consumer self-confidence: A cross-cultural study. Psychology & Marketing, 24, 69–91. doi:10.1002/mar.20153
6.
ChoiY. (2015). A study on the influential factors and the policy direction for tackling the youth unemployment rate: A panel analysis from cross country data for the years 2000 to 2013. Studies on Korean Youth, 26, 83–113. doi:10.14816/sky.2015.26.2.83
7.
DeciE. L.RyanR. M. (2000). The ‘what’ and ‘why’ of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behaviour. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227–268. doi:10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
8.
DienerE.DienerM. (1995). Cross-cultural correlates of life satisfaction and self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 653–663. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.68.4.653
9.
DienerE.EmmonsR. A.LarsenR. J.GriffinS. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71–75. doi:10.1027/s15327752jpa4901_13
10.
DikB. J.DuffyR. D. (2009). Calling and vocation at work: Definitions and prospects for research and practice. The Counseling Psychologist, 37, 424–450. doi:10.1177/0011000008316430
11.
DikB. J.DuffyR. D. (2015). Strategies for discerning and living a calling. In HartungP.SavickasM.WalshB. (Eds.), APA handbook of career intervention (pp. 305–317). Washington, DC: APA Books.
12.
DikB. J.EldridgeB. M.StegerM. F.DuffyR. D. (2012). Development and validation of the calling and vocation questionnaire (CVQ) and brief calling scale (BCS). Journal of Career Assessment, 20, 242–263. doi:10.1177/1069072711434410
13.
DikB. J.SargentA. M.StegerM. F. (2008). Career development strivings: Assessing goals and motivation in career decision-making and planning. Journal of Career Development, 35, 23–41. doi:10.1177/0894845308317934
14.
DouglassR. P.DuffyR. D.AutinK. L. (2016). Living a calling, nationality, and life satisfaction: A moderated, multiple mediator model. Journal of Career Assessment, 24, 253–269. doi:10.1177/1069072715580324
15.
DouglassR. P.VelezB. L.ConlinS. E.DuffyR. D.EnglandJ. W. (2017). Examining the psychology of working theory: Decent work among sexual minorities. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 64, 550–559. doi:10.1037/cou0000212
16.
DuffyR. D.AllanB. A.BottE. M. (2012). Calling and life satisfaction among undergraduate students: Investigating mediators and moderators. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13, 469–479. doi:10.1007/s10902-011-9274-6
17.
DuffyR. D.AllanB. A.DikB. J. (2011). The presence of a calling and academic satisfaction: Exploring potential mediators. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79, 74–80. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2010.11.001
18.
DuffyR. D.AutinK. L.BottE. M. (2015). Work volition and job satisfaction: Examining the role of work meaning and P-E fit. The Career Development Quarterly, 63, 126–140. doi:10.1002/cdq.12009
19.
DuffyR. D.AutinK. L.DouglassR. P. (2016). Examining how aspects of vocational privilege relate to living a calling. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 11, 416–427. doi:10.1080/17439760.2015.1092570
20.
DuffyR. D.BlusteinD. L.DiemerM. A.AutinK. L. (2016). The psychology of working theory. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63, 127–148. doi:10.1037/cou0000140
21.
DuffyR. D.BottE. M.AllanB. A.AutinK. L. (2015). Calling among the unemployed: Examining prevalence and links to coping with job loss. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 10, 332–345. doi:10.1080/17439760.2014.967798
22.
DuffyR. D.BottE. M.TorreyC. L.WebsterG. W. (2013). Work volition as a critical moderator in the prediction of job satisfaction. Journal of Career Assessment, 21, 20–31. doi:10.1177/1069072712453831
23.
DuffyR. D.DiemerM. A.PerryJ. C.LaurenziC.TorreyC. L. (2012). The construction and initial validation of the Work Volition Scale. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80, 400–411. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2011.04.002
24.
DuffyR. D.DikB. J. (2013). Research on calling: What have we learned and where are we going?Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83, 428–436. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2013.06.006
25.
DuffyR. D.DikB. J.DouglassR. P.EnglandJ. W.VelezB. L. (2018). Work as a calling: A theoretical model. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 65, 425–439. doi:10.1037/cou0000276
26.
DuffyR. D.DouglassR. P.AutinK. L.AllanB. A. (2016). Examining predictors of work volition among undergraduate students. Journal of Career Assessment, 24, 441–459. doi:10.1177/1069072715599377
27.
DuffyR. D.EnglandJ. W.DouglassR. P.AutinK. L.AllanB. A. (2017). Perceiving a calling and well-being: Motivation and access to opportunity as moderators. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 127–137. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2016.11.003
28.
DuffyR. D.ManuelR. S.BorgesN. J.BottE. M. (2011). Calling, vocational development, and well-being: A longitudinal study of medical students. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79, 361–366. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2011.03.023
29.
DuffyR. D.SedlacekW. E. (2007). The presence of and search for a calling: Connections to career development. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 70, 590–601. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2007.03.007
30.
HirschiA.HerrmannA. (2012). Vocational identity achievement as a mediator of presence of calling and life satisfaction. Journal of Career Assessment, 20, 309–321. doi:10.1177/1069072711436158
31.
HuL.BentlerP. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6, 1–55. doi:10.1080/10705519909540118
32.
JohnsonR. E.RosenC. C.ChangC. H. (2011). To aggregate or not to aggregate: Steps for developing and validating higher-order multidimensional constructs. Journal of Business and Psychology, 26, 241–248. doi:10/1007/s10869-011-9238-1
33.
JudgeT. A.BonoJ. E.ErezA.LockeE. A. (2005). Core self-evaluations and job and life satisfaction: The role of self-concordance and goal attainment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 257–268. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.90.2.257
34.
JudgeT. A.ErezA.BonoJ. E.ThoresenC. J. (2003). The core self-evaluations scale: Development of a measure. Personnel Psychology, 56, 303–331. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6750.2003.tb00152.x
35.
JuntunenC. L.WetterstenK. B. (2006). Work hope: Development and initial validation of a measure. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53, 94–106. doi:110.1037/0022-0167.53.1.94
36.
KimA. E.ParkG. (2003). Nationalism, Confucianism, work ethic and industrialization in South Korea. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 33, 37–49. doi:10.1080/00472330380000041
37.
KimJ. Y. (2015). A test of mediating effects of work locus of control, career decision making self-efficacy, and career adaptability on relations between work volition and academic satisfaction among college students (Unpublished master’s thesis). Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
38.
KimN. RLeeG. H. (2016). The moderating effects of cultural self-construal in the relationship between work volition and career satisfaction. The Journal of Career Educational Research, 29, 47–64.
39.
KimN. R.LeeJ. H.LeeG. H. (2014). The moderating effect of work volition on the relationship between feelings of anxiety about future and depression. Paper presented at the meetings of the Korean Psychological Association, Seoul, South Korea.
40.
LeongF. T. L.HuangJ. L.MakS. (2014). Protestant work ethic, Confucian values, and work related attitudes in Singapore. Journal of Career Assessment, 22, 304–316. doi:10.1177/1069072713493985
41.
LimY. J. (2012). Psychometric properties of the satisfaction with life scale among Korean police officers, college students and adolescents. Korean Journal of Psychology: General, 31, 877–896.
42.
MacCallumR. C.BrowneM. W.SugawaraH. M. (1996). Power analysis and determination of sample size for covariance structure modeling. Psychological Methods, 1, 130–149. doi:10.1037//1082-989X.1.2.130
43.
MilfontT. L.FischerR. (2010). Testing measurement invariance across groups: Applications in cross-cultural research. International Journal of Psychological Research, 3, 111–121.
44.
O’BrienK. M.Ganginis Del PinoH. V.YooS. K.CinamonR. G.HanY. (2014). Work, family, support, and depression: Employed mothers in Israel, Korea, and the United States. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 61, 461–472. doi:10.1037/a0036339
45.
ParkJ. H.YooS. K. (2012). Exploring the mediating effects of career decision-making self-efficacy and work hope in the relationship between calling and career attitude maturity among college students. Korea Journal of Counseling, 13, 543–560. doi:10.15703/kjc.13.2.201204.543
46.
PodsakoffP. M.OrganD. W. (1986). Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of Management, 12, 531–544. doi:10.1177/014920638601200408
47.
ProctorC.LinleyP. A.MaltbyJ. (2009). Youth life satisfaction: A review of the literature. Journal of Happiness Studies, 10, 583–630. doi:10.1007/s10902-008-9110-9
48.
RussellD. W.KahnJ. H.SpothR.AltmaierE. M. (1998). Analyzing data from experimental studies: A latent variable structural equation modeling approach. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 45, 18–29. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.45.1.18
49.
ShimY.YooS. K. (2012). Development and validation of the Korean version of the Calling and Vocation Questionnaire (CVQ-K). The Korean Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 24, 847–872.
50.
ShinJ. M.LeeY. K.YangN. M. (2015). The effects of career calling on career decision self-efficacy and life satisfaction in college students. Journal of Social Sciences, 54, 169–194. doi:10.22418/jss.2015.06.54.1.169
51.
ShroutP. E.BolgerN. (2002). Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: New procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods, 7, 422–445. doi:10.1037/1082-989X.7.4.422
52.
SuperD. E. (1953). A theory of vocational development. American Psychologist, 8, 185–190.
53.
WeberM. (1958). The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. New York, NY: Scribner.
54.
YangP. S.KimH. R. (2009). The impact of core self-evaluations on the organizational effectiveness: Mediating effect of self-leadership and psychological empowerment. Journal of Human Resource Management Research, 16, 147–179.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
