Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The current study examined the mediating role of perceived risk of COVID-19 and the moderating role of hope in the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety. 812 advanced undergraduate students participated in this investigation (M_age = 21.95, SD_age = 1.37; 69% female). Results indicated that intolerance of uncertainty is positively linked to job-seeking anxiety. Perceived risk of COVID-19 mediated the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety. Hope moderated the direct path and the indirect path from perceived risk of COVID-19 to job-seeking anxiety. Specifically, the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety became weaker for high-hope students. The results indicated that intolerance of uncertainty and perceived risk of COVID-19 serves as risk factors, while hope serves as a protective factor for job-seeking anxiety. Interventions, which reduce these two risk factors and increase this protective factor, might help to protect advanced undergraduate students from job-seeking anxiety.

Keywords

intolerance of uncertainty perceived risk of COVID-19 job-seeking anxiety hope

Introduction

By reducing companies’ profits, the COVID-19 pandemic threatened the global economy and labor market (Garfin et al., 2020; Lee et al., 2020). Under this serious situation, individuals may face more difficulties to be employed. According to Lee et al. (2020), millions more youth are unemployed. Previous studies show that anxiety and stress are common among job seekers who have difficulties getting a job after graduating from university (Kang & Chi, 2021; Rafi et al., 2019). Advanced undergraduate students in colleges and universities, who must find a job to support themselves after graduation, are more vulnerable to get job-seeking anxiety (Arnett, 2000). Unlike western developed countries, China has a large number of graduates every year, which makes Chinese graduates experience rather high job-seeking anxiety due to insufficient job opportunities even in normal times (Liu & Raju, 2020). Considering that the majority of participants in this investigation are female, it’s worth pointing out that female graduates have more difficulties finding a job successfully than their male counterparts (He, 2022). According to the perspective of maximizing rational utility, female is a higher employment cost than male due to fertility problems and time allocation (Gong, 2019). More seriously, the three-child policy, implemented by China in 2021, makes employers more inclined than ever to hire males in China. Thus, female advanced undergraduate students may be more easily affected by the deterioration of the job market due to COVID-19. It is of great significance to explore the antecedents of job-seeking anxiety during COVID-19 in a sample with a majority of female advanced undergraduate students, which may help to enhance the validity of the study.

Previous investigation suggests that Guangdong Province has more pressure to prevent new waves of infections caused by overseas COVID-19 cases due to the prosperity of foreign trade and exchange activities (People’s Government of Guangdong Province[PGGP], 2021). The resurgence of the pandemic caused by overseas COVID-19 cases left no hope of being completely controlled, thus triggering individuals’ uncertain perceptions. In addition, China has always implemented a dynamic-zero policy until December 7, 2022. This policy required local authorities to use regional lockdowns and shut down economic activities even with a few COVID-19 cases (Morrison & Kennedy, 2022), further decreasing job opportunities. Taken together, advanced undergraduate students may face unprecedented job-seeking pressure and anxiety during our investigation, especially in Guangdong Province. Thus, exploring the risk and protective factors of job-seeking anxiety among our sample is of very significance.

Job-seeking anxiety refers to a series of negative emotional experiences (e.g., nervousness, irritability, and uneasiness) caused by misperceptions and inadequate employment opportunities before graduation (Fan et al., 2022). Previous studies show that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated employment difficulties (Akkermans et al., 2020), which may in turn trigger advanced undergraduate students’ job-seeking anxiety. Furthermore, university students’ job-seeking anxiety becomes more and more significant during COVID-19 (Chen & Zeng, 2021; Sun et al., 2021). Although previous studies believe that job-seeking anxiety is a state of anxiety that will disappear when individuals find a job successfully (Wei et al., 2020). Other researchers believe that job-seeking anxiety may lead to suicidal thoughts and attempts (Han & Cho, 2015). Thus, it is imperative to explore the risk and protective factors of job-seeking anxiety among advanced undergraduate students under COVID-19, which may help to prevent and intervene in anxiety effectively.

As a pathogenic factor related to anxiety, previous literature demonstrates that intolerance of uncertainty may exacerbate college students’ job-seeking anxiety under infectious disease outbreak situations (Chen & Zeng, 2021; Taha, et al., 2014a). The previous study also indicates that the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 may exacerbate individuals’ sense of worry and uncertainty (Demetriou et al., 2020; Şentürk & Bakır, 2021). Thus, the effect of intolerance of uncertainty on job-seeking anxiety may be more serious during the COVID-19 pandemic (Rudenstine et al., 2022). Although a previous study explored the association between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety among college students under COVID-19 (Chen & Zeng, 2021), no study has explored the related mediating and moderating mechanisms. To fill this gap, this study aims to concept of a moderated mediation model to reveal the underline mechanisms in the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety.

Given that the COVID-19 epidemic has significantly increased the anxiety of the public, perceived risk of COVID-19 may play a critical role to explain the effect of uncertainty intolerance on job-seeking anxiety. The relationship between intolerance for ambiguity, perceived risk from COVID-19, and job search anxiety has been examined in the past (Asmundson & Taylor, 2020; Bakioğlu et al., 2021; Belle et al., 2021), but no studies have examined the mediating effect of perceived risk. As a psychological capital factor, hope is central to successful goal attainment (Snyder et al., 1991), which may play a protective role in psychological consequences (Demetriou et al., 2020; Mednick et al., 2007). However, to our knowledge, there is no research directly discussing the moderating effect of hope on job-seeking anxiety during the COVID-19. To fill this gap, this investigation aims to examine the mediating role of perceived risk of COVID-19 and the moderating role of hope between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety.

Intolerance of Uncertainty and Job-Seeking Anxiety Relation

Intolerance of uncertainty refers to cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions to ambiguous situations (Freeston et al., 1994), which is characterized by interpreting ambiguous situations as threatening or negative. Intolerance of uncertainty is a cognitive amplifier of negative perceptions and emotions (Carleton et al., 2007), thus making it become a popular concept in explaining individual variability in tendencies to experience worry and anxiety (Greco & Roger, 2001; Laugesen et al., 2003). By interpreting neutral stimuli as threats, individuals with a high level of intolerance of uncertainty are vulnerable to anxiety-related symptoms (Koerner & Dugas, 2008).

The previous study also indicates that intolerance of uncertainty is a crucial component of neuroticism (i.e., a factor of The Big-Five Factors Model) (Craske, 1999), which may make individuals perceive threats easily and activate anxiety quickly (Clarke & Kiropoulos, 2021). Empirical research studies demonstrate a positive relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety (Boswell et al., 2013; Carleton et al., 2012). Noteworthy is that, during the 2009 H1N1pandemic, intolerance of uncertainty was identified as a risk factor for both anxiety and perceived risk of the virus (Taha et al., 2014a, 2014b). Recently, empirical research studies also demonstrate that intolerance of uncertainty predicts anxiety and the perceived risk of the virus during the COVID-19 pandemic (Li et al., 2021; Zhao et al., 2022b). Although the positive link between intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety has been supported, empirical studies on the association between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety remain lacking.

In the job-seeking process, advanced undergraduate students often experience uncertainty regarding the possibility of being appreciated by the interviewee and being employed successfully (Arbona et al., 2021). For college students with high intolerance of uncertainty, these uncertainties are more likely to have bad consequences (e.g., Can’t get a job) than good ones, thus triggering job-seeking anxiety. Besides, an empirical study has found that the intolerance of uncertainty is positively related to employment anxiety (Chen & Zeng, 2021). Therefore, this study assumes that the intolerance of uncertainty is positively related to job-seeking anxiety under COVID-19.

Perceived Risk of COVID-19 as a Mediator

Although intolerance of uncertainty may significantly affect job-seeking anxiety, not all individuals with high intolerance of uncertainty experience job-seeking anxiety. Therefore, exploring the mediating mechanism would deepen our understanding of how intolerance of uncertainty triggers job-seeking anxiety. The large-scale outbreaks of COVID-19 have worsened economic conditions and increased the unemployment rate (Lee et al., 2020), which may trigger more job-seeking anxiety among college advanced undergraduates than at normal times. Perceived risk refers to individuals’ psychological evaluations of the probability and consequences of adverse outcomes (Sjöberg, 2000). Thus, researchers defined perceived risk of COVID-19 as individuals’ negative psychological evaluations of the probability and consequences of COVID-19 (Yıldırım & Güler, 2020). Considering that intolerance of uncertainty exacerbates individuals’ anxiety through irrational perceptions and negative coping styles of uncertain events (Carleton et al., 2012; Koerner & Dugas, 2008). This paper aims to verify that perceived risk of COVID-19 can mediate the effect of intolerance of uncertainty on job-seeking anxiety, which may protect advanced undergraduate students from job-seeking anxiety timely and effectively during the COVID-19 outbreak.

First, intolerance of uncertainty may positively link to the perceived risk of COVID-19. Previous studies suggest that intolerance of uncertainty includes destructive evaluations and irrational perceptions (Bakioğlu et al., 2021; Satici et al., 2022). And they may amplify individuals’ perceived risk of unexpected events (Buhr & Dugas, 2002). Individuals with high levels of intolerance of uncertainty tend to predict disastrous consequences of an unexpected event and avoid it at their full strength (Carleton et al., 2007), which may lead to a more perceived risk of COVID-19. Researchers suggest that intolerance of uncertainty was positively related to the perceived risk of the virus during the H1N1 outbreak in 2009 (Taha et al., 2014b). Recently, many empirical studies demonstrate that individuals with high intolerance of uncertainty tend to interpret ambiguous situations as threatening, which may lead them to perceive more risk in COVID-19 situations (e.g., Asmundson & Taylor, 2020; Bakioğlu et al., 2021; Zhao et al., 2022a). Therefore, we assume that intolerance of uncertainty is positively related to the perceived risk of COVID-19.

Second, perceived risk of COVID-19 may positively link to job-seeking anxiety. According to the ABC model, individuals’ anxiety is not directly caused by activating events, but by irrational perceptions or evaluations (Ellis, 1985). Individuals with a high-risk perception tend to feel more threat and uncertainty, which makes them experience more anxiety (Gentes & Ruscio, 2011). Previous theoretical and empirical research studies indicate that perceived risk is linked to increased anxiety (Gasper & Clore, 1998; Taha et al., 2014a). Literature review and investigations demonstrate that individuals’ fear of COVID-19 is associated with increased perceived job insecurity and future job anxiety (Gasparro et al., 2020; Mahmud et al., 2021; Rajabimajd et al., 2021). Scholars suggest that the health and death threat of the COVID-19 epidemic is positively related to state anxiety during job-seeking (Hu et al., 2020; Park, 2021). Thus, when university graduates decide to find a job, the worry about getting sick during COVID-19 may increase their anxiety. Furthermore, because of the conflict between avoiding physical contact and attending interviews, advanced undergraduate students may experience greater unpredictability and threat throughout their job search during the coronavirus pandemic. Drawing on the literature above, although no research tested the relationship between the perceived risk of COVID-19 and job-seeking anxiety up to now, we assume a positive relationship between the two.

Hope as a Moderator

Although intolerance of uncertainty may have direct and indirect effects on job-seeking anxiety through the perceived risk of COVID-19, not all individuals experience this effect. Hope is a cognitive-motivational concept that includes three components: the positive expectations of goals, the motivations to move toward goals, and the pathways to achieve goals (Martin-Krumm et al., 2014; Snyder, 1995). Despite some similarities, optimism mainly focuses on positive expectations of desired goals, overlooking pathways of thinking (Rand, 2009; Scheier & Carver, 1985). Therefore, hope may be more powerful in dealing with difficulties and negative emotions.

From the perspective of positive psychology, hope is a psychological resource, which can relieve risk factor’s negative effect on human mental health as well as predict life satisfaction and well-being (Counted et al., 2020; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Previous research studies suggest that hope is related to higher levels of psychological adjustment, personal adaptation, and self-efficacy during a crisis (Karatas et al., 2021; Kennedy et al., 2012; Madan & Pakenham, 2014), which may protect them from psychological distress and anxiety (Dipierro & Johnson-Motoyama, 2018; Kennedy et al., 2012; Mirhosseini et al., 2020). As a psychological resource, hope could enable individuals to overcome difficult positions and regulate negative emotions like anxiety under COVID-19. For this reason, this study further proposes hope as a moderator that relieves the direct and indirect effects of intolerance of uncertainty on job-seeking anxiety during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Individuals with high levels of hope are more optimistic, and have better coping skills (Karatas & Tagay, 2021), which makes them have a better expectation of the future. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hope may improve individuals’ tolerance of uncertainty due to positive expectations and emotions, which lead to a low perceived risk of COVID-19. In addition, hope is a positive state of motivation oriented to the target (Folkman, 2013), thus individuals with stronger hope may focus on taking actions to overcome difficulties during jobhunting rather than being overwhelmed by anxiety. Therefore, advanced undergraduate students with high levels of intolerance of uncertainty would be strengthened by a stronger hope. Besides, individuals with high hope may more focus on good things rather than bad things, which protects them from anxiety. Empirical research also proves that hope is negatively related to intolerance of uncertainty (Saricam et al., 2020), and the perceived risk of COVID-19 (Cuzzocrea, 2020; Demetriou et al., 2020; Feldman, 2021). Thus, we suppose that hope moderates the direct path (i.e., intolerance of uncertainty→job-seeking anxiety) and the second stage of this mediating model (perceived risk of COVID-19→job-seeking anxiety).

Previous studies indicate that individuals with stronger hope tend to have a lower threat or risk perception (Kennedy et al., 2009) and a higher tolerance for health crises (Miller-Smedema et al., 2010). Through coping with stress effectively and evoking positive emotion, hope may protect individuals from anxiety after perceived high risk (Kirmani et al., 2015). Thus, hope may protect college students from job-seeking anxiety by offering effective coping strategies for perceived uncertainties and threats of COVID-19. College students with stronger hope may also adjust their negative emotions in time after the perceived risk of COVID-19 (Madan & Pakenham, 2014), which may help them alleviate the negative effect of the perceived risk of COVID-19 on job-seeking anxiety. Recently, an investigation also demonstrates a negative link between hope and COVID-19 fear (Karatas et al., 2021). Thus, we suppose that hope may moderate the first stage of this mediating model (i.e., perceived risk of COVID-19 → job-seeking anxiety).

The Present Study

The data used in this paper is from a larger investigation concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and mental health among college students in Guangdong province, which was conducted in the first ten days of February 2021. During this investigation, approximately 5–18 overseas COVID-19 cases per day were identified in Guangdong Province (PGGP, 2021). Besides, Guangdong Province often attracts a large number of graduates from other provinces to hunt for jobs due to its higher salaries, which may also exacerbate the deterioration of the job market in this region. A previous investigation also pointed out that nearly 70% of college students in Guangdong Province have job-seeking anxiety after the COVID-19 outbreak (Lin, 2020). Thus, this study aims to test a moderated mediation model (see Figure 1) among advanced undergraduate students in Guangdong Province. First, we examined whether intolerance of uncertainty is positively associated with job-seeking anxiety. Second, we tested whether perceived risk of COVID-19 mediates the link between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety. Third, we examined whether hope moderates the effect of intolerance of uncertainty on job-seeking anxiety. This study tested the following three specific hypotheses:

Figure 1.

The conceptual model.

Hypotheses 1

Intolerance of uncertainty is positively linked to job-seeking anxiety.

Hypotheses 2

Perceived risk of COVID-19 mediates the link between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety. Specifically, intolerance of uncertainty is positively related to perceived risk of COVID-19 and perceived risk of COVID-19 is positively related to job-seeking anxiety.

Hypotheses 3

Hope would moderate the direct and indirect links between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety via perceived risk of COVID-19.

Method

Participants

The sample includes 812 advanced undergraduates in college from a larger investigation in Guangdong Province, China (M_age = 21.95, SD_age = 1.37, range_age = 18–26; 69% female; 64.5% 3^rd year and 35.5% fourth year). To reduce face-to-face contact, this investigation recruited participants through electronic online mediums (e.g., SurveyStar) using convenience and partial snowball sampling methods. The investigation was introduced to students by college staff during their lectures, and participants were asked to offer the survey link to their peers. Participants were given informed consent and were free to withdraw from the investigation at any time. Participants are all volunteers and complete questionnaires without any compensation. The Research Ethics Committee of the first author’s institution approved the current investigation.

Measures

Intolerance of Uncertainty

This study used the Chinese version of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-12, which was revised by Carleton et al. (2007) and translated into Chinese by Wu et al. (2016). This measure has 12 items including 2 factors: (1) 7 items of prospective anxiety (e.g., “Unforeseen events upset me greatly”), (2) 5 items of inhibitory anxiety (e.g., “Uncertainty keeps me from living a full life”). All items are measured on a five-point Likert scale (1 = totally disagree to 5 = totally agree). Higher scores indicate stronger intolerance of uncertainty. In the current study, α = .90, CR = .93, AVE = .53.

Job-Seeking Anxiety

To measure Chinese college students’ job-seeking anxiety, this investigation revised Ren’s (2010) Job-seeking Anxiety Scale, which consists of 2 sub-scales: (1) 8 items of physiological behavior (e.g., “When I think about finding a job after graduation, I become more tempted to lose my temper.”), (2) 8 items of subjective feelings (e.g., “I’m very upset”). All items were measured on a four-point Likert scale (1 = totally disagree to 4 = totally agree). Higher scores indicated greater job-seeking anxiety. In this investigation, α = .95. CR = .93, AVE = .82.

Perceived Risk of COVID-19

To measure Chinese college students’ perceived risk of COVID-19, we adopted and revised 4 items of the COVID-19 Perceived Risk Scale (CPRS) (Yıldırım & Güler, 2020). Each item is rated on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree). Higher scores indicate higher levels of perceived risk related to COVID-19. The newly revised scale measured 2 dimensions: (1) 2 items for negative psychological evaluations of the likelihood (i.e., “Perceived likelihood of acquiring COVID-19 compared to other persons; the Perceived likelihood of acquiring COVID-19”), (2) 2 items for negative psychological evaluations of the consequences (i.e., “Worrying about becoming a severe patient after being infected with COVID-19; Worrying about COVID-19 emerging as a health issue”). The newly revised 4-item scale was fitted to a two-factor scale, α = .70, CR = .93, AVE = .78.

Hope

This study used the Chinese version of the Hope scale (Snyder et al., 1996), which was translated into Chinese by Zhou et al. (2018). This measure has 6 items (e.g., “If I’m in a dilemma, I can think out many ways to get out of it”). Each item is rated on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 8 (totally agree). Higher scores reflect higher levels of hope. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for scores on this scale in the current study is .93, CR = .95, AVE = .74.

Analytical Methods

First, we calculated the descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations of the main study variables in SPSS20.0. Second, we examined whether the perceived risk of COVID-19 mediates the link between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety by the PROCESS macro for SPSS (Model 4) (Hayes, 2017). Third, we examined whether hope moderates the direct and indirect links between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety via Model 59. Whether the effects in Model 4 and Model 59 were significant was determined by the bootstrap confidence intervals (CIs) based on 5000 random samples (Hayes, 2017). If the CIs did not include zero, there is a significant effect. All study variables were standardized before data analyses.

Results

Correlation Analyses

Descriptive statistics (i.e., Mean, SDs, and Pearson coefficients) for the main study variables of this investigation are shown in Table 1. Age was positively correlated with intolerance of uncertainty. Intolerance of uncertainty was positively correlated with perceived risk of COVID-19 and job-seeking anxiety but negatively correlated with hope. Perceived risk of COVID-19 was positively correlated with job-seeking anxiety but negatively correlated with hope. Hope was negatively correlated with job-seeking anxiety.

Table 1.

Descriptive Statistics and Bi-Variate Correlations.

Variables	Means	SD	1	2	3	4	5	6
1. Age	21.95	1.37	—
2. Gender	1.69	.46	−.06	—
3. IU	3.2	.61	.07*	−.04	—
4. PRC	2.44	.79	.03	−.05	.30***	—
5. Hope	5.81	1.10	−.03	.05	−.17***	−.25***	—
6. JA	1.69	.57	.04	−.01	.38***	.37***	−.36***	—

Note: N = 812, IU = Intolerance of uncertainty, PRC = Perceived risk of COVID-19, JA = Job-seeking anxiety, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

Testing for Mediation Effect

To examine each path, linear regression models were conducted (Table 2). Intolerance of uncertainty was significantly related to job-seeking anxiety controlling for demographic variables (Model 1), supporting Hypothesis 1. To test a possible mediation effect, the paths to perceived risk of COVID-19 as a criterion variable (Model 2) and to job-seeking anxiety incorporating perceived risk of COVID-19 (Model 3) were examined. Results showed that intolerance of uncertainty was significantly and positively related to both perceived risk of COVID-19 and job-seeking anxiety (Models 2–3). Perceived risk of COVID-19 was positively related to job-seeking anxiety (Model 3), but the residual direct effect of intolerance of uncertainty on job-seeking anxiety remained significant, suggesting a partial mediation effect. The indirect effect via perceived risk of COVID-19 in this mediation model was significant (β = .08, SE = .01, 95% CI [.06, .11]), and the mediation effect accounted for 21.78% of the total effect, supporting Hypothesis 2.

Table 2.

Testing the Mediation Effect.

Predictors	Model 1 (JA)		Model 2 (PRC)		Model 3 (JA)
Predictors	β	t	β	t	β	t
Age	.01	.16	−.03	−1.19	.01	.52
Gender	.01	.26	.02	.28	.01	.19
IU	.38	11.68^***	.30	8.83^***	.30	9.10^***
PRC					.28	8.58^***
R2	.15		.09		.22
F	45.85^***		27.02^***		55.89^***

Note: N = 812, IU = Intolerance of uncertainty, PRC = Perceived risk of COVID-19, JA = Job-seeking anxiety, ***p < .001.

Moderated Mediation Effect Analysis

The moderating effect results are shown in Table 3. Hope moderated the path from perceived risk of COVID-19 to job-seeking anxiety (β = −.07, p < .01) and the path from intolerance of uncertainty to job-seeking anxiety (β = −.07, p < .05), which partially supported Hypothesis 3.

Table 3.

Testing the Moderation Effect of Hope.

Predictors	Model 1 (PRC)		Model 2 (JA)
Predictors	β	t	β	t
Age	−.02	−.94	.02	.86
Gender	.02	.22	.003	.04
IU	.26	7.08^***	.31	9.26^***
PRC			.24	7.43^***
Hope	−.19	−5.70^***	−.28	−8.91^***
IU × Hope	.02	.22	−.07	−2.44^**
PRC × Hope			−.07	−2.35^*
R ²	.13		.29
F	23.93^***		47.75^***

Note: N = 812, IU = Intolerance of uncertainty, PRC = Perceived risk of COVID-19, JA = Job-seeking anxiety, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

To visualize the moderating pattern, the simple slope figures (Figures 2 and 3

Figure 2.

Interaction effect of perceived risk of COVID-19 and hope on job-seeking anxiety.

Figure 3.

Interaction effect of intolerance of uncertainty and hope on job-seeking anxiety.

) of predicted job-seeking anxiety under low and high (±1 SD from the mean) levels of hope were plotted, respectively. Simple slope tests of Figure 2 demonstrated that, for advanced undergraduate students with high hope, perceived risk of COVID-19 was positively associated with job-seeking anxiety, b_simple = .17, p < .001, 95%CI [.09, .25]. For college students with low hope, perceived risk of COVID-19 also was positively associated with job-seeking anxiety, b_simple = .31, p < .001, 95%CI [.22, .40]. The results demonstrated that the stronger the hope, the weaker the association between perceived risk of COVID-19 and job-seeking anxiety. Simple slope tests of Figure 3 revealed a positive association between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety both for advanced undergraduate students with high (b_simple = .24, p < .001, 95%CI [.17, .31]) and low (b_simple = .38, p < .001, 95%CI [.28, .48]) hope. However, the results demonstrated that the link between intolerant of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety appeared to be stronger for those reporting low hope.

The bias-corrected percentile bootstrap analysis further indicated that the indirect effect of intolerant of uncertainty on job-seeking anxiety through the perceived risk of COVID-19 was moderated by hope. Particularly, for college students with low hope, the indirect effect of intolerant of uncertainty on job-seeking anxiety via perceived risk of COVID-19 was significant, b = .07, SE = .02, 95% CI_boot = [.04, .11]. The indirect effect was also significant for college students with stronger hope, but the effect was weaker, b = .05, SE = .01, 95% CI_boot = [.02, .08]. The results also demonstrated that the moderated mediation was significant, Index = - .21, SE = .01, 95% CI_boot = [−.04, −.002], which indicated that hope moderated the indirect effect of intolerant of uncertainty on job-seeking anxiety via perceived risk of COVID-19.

Discussion

Intolerance of Uncertainty and Job-Seeking Anxiety

The results demonstrated that intolerance of uncertainty was positively linked to job-seeking anxiety, which was consistent with previous research (Angehrn et al., 2020; Chen & Zeng, 2021; Freeston et al., 2020). By amplifying individuals’ negative perceptions and emotions of uncertain events, intolerance of uncertainty plays a key role in the etiology of anxiety-related disorders (Carleton et al., 2007; Dugas et al., 2004). In the career decision process, intolerance of uncertainty may lead to career decision difficulties by increasing the sense of career uncertainty, which then stimulates anxiety experiences (Arbona et al., 2021). Taken together, for advanced undergraduate students with high intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety may occur more easily since the process of job hunting is full of uncertainties (Yu & Chen, 2022). Noteworthy is that the Chinese government utilized a dynamic-zero policy with government-mandated lockdowns until December 7, 2022 (Morrison & Kennedy, 2022). Consequently, the connections between uncertainty, perceived risk, and job-seeking anxiety may be stronger than in other countries or regions under COVID-19.

The Mediating Role of the Perceived Risk of COVID-19

Our results suggested that the perceived risk of COVID-19 mediated the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety. Consistent with previous research, individuals’ innate personalities link to negative emotions through cognitive appraisal (Li et al., 2021). This result can be explained by rational-emotive theory (Ellis, 1985). Specifically, intolerance of uncertainty as an inner state can aggravate the perceived risk of COVID-19 (i.e., evaluation), which in turn exacerbates anxiety experience. Our finding indicated that external threat factors and innate personalities work together on accelerating job-seeking anxiety among advanced undergraduate students under the epidemic situation.

Besides revealing the mechanism by which intolerance of uncertainty affects job-seeking anxiety as a whole, each of the separate links in our mediation model is of significance. First, our results demonstrated that intolerance of uncertainty was positively related to the perceived risk of COVID-19, which was consistent with previous research (He et al., 2020; Tull et al., 2020; Wu et al., 2021). A possible explanation may be that individuals with high intolerance of uncertainty tend to make negative evaluations and overestimate risks (Li et al., 2021). In addition, individuals with high intolerance of uncertainty may seek more threat-relevant information, which could increase risk perception (Ladouceur et al., 2000). Therefore, intolerance of uncertainty is positively related to the perceived risk of COVID-19 among advanced undergraduate students.

Second, consistent with previous studies (Fisher et al., 2021; Kwok et al., 2020; Lee et al., 2021), our results demonstrated that the perceived risk of COVID-19 was positively linked to job-seeking anxiety. This result can be explained by the conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989), which states that individuals with compromised cognitive resources may not cope well with difficulties effectively and experience more anxiety. Consequently, advanced undergraduate students with a high perceived risk of COVID-19 may have limited cognitive resources, which makes them more anxious during the job-seeking period.

The Moderating Role of Hope

The results indicated that hope moderated the direct path (i.e., intolerance of uncertainty→job-seeking anxiety) and the indirect path (i.e., perceived risk of COVID-19→job-seeking anxiety). The moderating types were consistent with the risk-buffering model, which demonstrated that protective factors can weaken the adverse effects of risk factors on psychological disorders (Masten, 2001). Our results indicated that hope may serve as a protective factor that mitigates the adverse effects of intolerance of uncertainty on job-seeking anxiety. Although previous studies have indicated that hope may play a protective role in psychological and physical consequences (Demetriou et al., 2020; Mednick et al., 2007), the current study is the first, to our knowledge, to indicate that hope as a moderator significantly reduces the effect of intolerance of uncertainty on job-seeking anxiety.

Firstly, our result demonstrated that hope can moderate the association between the perceived risk of COVID-19 and job-seeking anxiety. Specifically, individuals perceived a high risk of COVID-19 tend to feel less anxiety during job-seeking when they reported high hope. This phenomenon can be explained by hope’s protective function, which indicated that individuals with stronger hope are more likely to have psychological resources, psychological adaptability, and self-efficacy during a crisis (Karatas et al., 2021; Kennedy et al., 2012; Madan & Pakenham, 2014). In addition, individuals with more psychological resources and self-efficacy tend to experience fewer negative emotions (Madan & Pakenham, 2014), which reduces the risk of anxiety. Thus, advanced undergraduate students with stronger hope can shift their attention to positive things easily, which may help to buffer the link between the perceived risk of COVID-19 and job-seeking anxiety.

Secondly, our result demonstrated that hope can moderate the association between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety. This result can be explained by hope theory (Snyder et al., 2003), which indicated that hope can reduce perceived uncertainty by motivating individuals to persevere in achieving goals. Besides, scholars believed that hope acts as a psychological capital factor or psychological strength, making individuals more positive and resourceful (Fitzgerald, 2014; Karatas & Tagay, 2021). Previous studies also pointed out that hope would protect individuals from anxiety by enabling them to persevere in stressful situations (Wang et al., 2017). Thus, advanced undergraduate students with high levels of intolerance of uncertainty would be strengthened by a stronger hope due to its positive effects, which also protect them from job-seeking anxiety.

Taken together, our moderated mediation model will help to identify which individuals are high-risk ones to suffer job-seeking anxiety. Furthermore, the protective role of hope and the risk role of intolerance of uncertainty and the perceived risk of COVID-19 may lead to targeted preventive interventions for job-seeking anxiety. Our findings have particular meanings for advanced undergraduate students in the global epidemic situation, especially for developing countries and regions with large populations and high unemployment rates.

Limitations and Future Directions

Several limitations need to be noted in this investigation. First, besides the two personality variables tested in the current investigation (i.e., intolerance of uncertainty, and hope), other internal personality variables (e.g., Big 5 personality, introvert personality, and resilience) may also have relationships with job-seeking anxiety. Future research should discuss the relationship between these personality variables and job-seeking anxiety. Second, this study adopted a cross-sectional design based on self-report scales at a one-time point, which may not allow us to infer causality and avoid socially desirable responding bias. Future studies should consider experimental or longitudinal designs and collect data from multiple sources (e.g., parents, teachers, or peers). Third, given that college students’ likelihood of severe health outcomes from COVID-19 is extremely low (CDC COVID-19 Response Team, 2020), those college students with a high perceived risk of COVID-19 may tend to be general worriers. Future studies should consider testing our moderated mediation model after controlling the general worry-related variables. Besides, our results not found a moderating effect of hope on the link between intolerance of uncertainty and the perceived risk of COVID-19. Therefore, re-testing our moderated mediation model under a new infectious disease epidemic is necessary. Lastly, the sample used in this study was entirely Chinese, limiting the generalization of results across diverse cultures.

Practical Implications

Despite the aforementioned limitations, this study’s findings inform areas of focus for career counselors working with advanced undergraduate students as they explore their career options as well as strategies for employers conducting job interviews as COVID-19 continues to impact public health globally. First, considering intolerance of uncertainty and perceived risk of COVID-19 are risk factors of job-seeking anxiety under COVID-19, measuring these two indicators among advanced undergraduate students by career counselors helps to identify high-risk individuals. When developing anxiety intervention projects, career counselors need to focus on decreasing intolerance of uncertainty and perceived risk of COVID-19, which may protect high-risk individuals from job-seeking anxiety effectively. Second, offering more online interview opportunities by employers during the virus epidemic may also help advanced undergraduate students reduce intolerance of uncertainty and perceived risk. Third, the results indicate that hope can buffer the effect of intolerance of uncertainty on job-seeking anxiety via the perceived risk of COVID-19. Previous studies have also proved that hope-based targeted interventions can effectively reduce anxiety experience (Cui et al., 2021; Ho et al., 2012). Thus, career counselors should plan prevention and intervention programs focus on hope under COVID-19, which may protect advanced undergraduates from job-seeking anxiety and help them deal with career development difficulties.

Conclusions

In conclusion, this research explored the potential mechanism between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking anxiety among Chinese advanced undergraduate students. The intolerance of uncertainty is positively related to job-seeking anxiety. Moreover, the perceived risk of COVID-19 plays a mediating role in this relationship. Furthermore, hope moderates the direct path (i.e., intolerance of uncertainty→job-seeking anxiety) and the second indirect path (i.e., the perceived risk of COVID-19→job-seeking anxiety).

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by Social Science Fund for Young Scholars of Guangdong Province in 2023 (GD23YXL06), the Projects for Humanities and Social Sciences of Jiaying University (2023SKY01), Research on Psychological Mechanism of Hakka Ethnic Group Cognition and Ethnic Identity (21KYKT16) and the 2019 Educational Science Planning Project of Guangdong (2019GXJK181).

ORCID iD

Shunying Zhao

Author Biographies

Shunying Zhao (Ph.D., Jiangxi Normal University) is a senior lecturer in psychology at the College of Education Science, Jiaying University, China. Her major research interests include adolescent mental health, depression, and anxiety. Her favorite leisure activities are playing badminton and climbing mountains.

Wencheng Yi is a postgraduate student at Jiangxi Normal University in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China. Her major research interests include college students’ development and clinical psychology. Her favorite leisure activity is swimming.

Baojuan Ye (Ph.D., South China Normal University) is a professor of psychology at the School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, China. Her research interests are in the fields of college students’ development, particularly positive psychology, and family education. Her favorite leisure activity is running.

Yadi Zeng is a doctoral student of psychology at Shaanxi Normal University in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China. Her major research focuses on developmental psychopathology. Her favorite leisure activity is drawing.

Yifan Yang, a teaching assistant at the Department of Marketing at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Her major research focuses on uncertainty, perceived busyness, and decision-making. Her daily hobby is cooking.

References

Akkermans

Richardson

Kraimer

M. L.

(2020). The Covid-19 crisis as a career shock: Implications for careers and vocational behavior. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 119(9), 103434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103434

Angehrn

Krakauer

R. L.

Carleton

R. N.

(2020). The impact of intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety sensitivity on mental health among public safety personnel: When the uncertainty is unavoidable. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 44(5), 919–930. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-020-10107-2

Arbona

Fan

Phang

Olvera

Dios

(2021). Intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety, and career indecision: A mediation model. Journal of Career Assessment, 29(4), 699–716. https://doi.org/10.1177/10690727211002564

Arnett

J. J.

(2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469

Asmundson

G. J.

Taylor

(2020). Coronaphobia: Fear and the 2019-nCoV outbreak. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 70(3), 102196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102196

Bakioğlu

Korkmaz

Ercan

(2021). Fear of COVID-19 and positivity: Mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty, depression, anxiety, and stress. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 19(6), 2369–2382. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00331-y

Belle

M. A.

Antwi

C. O.

Ntim

S. Y.

Affum-Osei

Ren

(2021). Am I gonna get a job? Graduating students’ psychological capital, coping styles, and employment anxiety. Journal of Career Development, 95(5), 08948453211020124. https://doi.org/10.1177/08948453211020124

Boswell

J. F.

Thompson-Hollands

Farchione

T. J.

Barlow

D. H.

(2013). Intolerance of uncertainty: A common factor in the treatment of emotional disorders. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69(6), 630-645. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.21965

Buhr

Dugas

M. J.

(2002). The intolerance of uncertainty scale: Psychometric properties of the English version. Behavior Research and Therapy, 40(8), 931–945. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0005-7967(01)00092-4

10.

Carleton

R. N.

Mulvogue

M. K.

Thibodeau

M. A.

McCabe

R. E.

Antony

M. M.

Asmundson

G. J.

(2012). Increasingly certain about uncertainty: Intolerance of uncertainty across anxiety and depression. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 26(3), 468–479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2012.01.011

11.

Carleton

R. N.

Norton

M. A. P. J.

Asmundson

G. J. G.

(2007). Fearing the unknown: A short version of the intolerance of uncertainty scale. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21(1), 105–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2006.03.014

12.

CDC COVID-19 Response Team (2020). Severe outcomes among patients with COVID-19. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69(12), 343–346. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6912e2

13.

Chen

Zeng

(2021). The relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and employment anxiety of graduates during COVID-19: The moderating role of career planning. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(10), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.694785

14.

Clarke

Kiropoulos

L. A.

(2021). Mediating the relationship between neuroticism and depressive, anxiety and eating disorder symptoms: The role of intolerance of uncertainty and cognitive flexibility. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 70(4), 100101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100101

15.

Counted

Pargament

K. I.

Bechara

A. O.

Joynt

Cowden

R. G.

(2020). Hope and well-being in vulnerable contexts during the covid-19 pandemic: Does religious coping matter? The Journal of Positive Psychology, 17(1), 70–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1832247

16.

Craske

M. G.

(1999). Anxiety disorders: Psychological approaches to theory and treatment. Westview Press.

17.

Cui

Wang

(2021). The association of illness uncertainty and hope with depression and anxiety symptoms in women with systemic lupus erythematosus: A cross-sectional study of psychological distress in systemic lupus erythematosus women. Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, 27(8), 299–305. https://doi.org/10.1097/RHU.0000000000001280

18.

Cuzzocrea

(2020). Julia cook, imagined futures. Hope, risk and uncertainty. Time and Society, 29(1), 282–285. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X18817576

19.

Demetriou

Drakontaides

Demetris

(2020). Psychological resilience, hope, and adaptability as protective factors in times of crisis: A study in Greek and Cypriot society during the covid-19 pandemic. Social Education Research, 2(1), 20–34. https://doi.org/10.37256/ser.212021618

20.

DiPierro

Fite

P. J.

Johnson-Motoyama

(2018). The role of religion and spirituality in the association between hope and anxiety in a sample of Latino youth. Child and Youth Care Forum, 47(1), 101–114. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10566-017-9421-2

21.

Dugas

M. J.

Schwartz

Francis

(2004). Brief report: Intolerance of uncertainty, worry, and depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 28(6), 835–842. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-004-0669-0

22.

Ellis

(1985). Expanding the ABCs of rational-emotive therapy. In Mahoney

M. J.

Freeman

(Eds), Cognition and psychotherapy: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7562-3_13

23.

Fan

Ying

Huang

(2022). Employment anxiety: Psychological stress and the mitigation strategies of college students before graduation. Education Research Monthly. 2022(9), 75–82. (In Chinese).

24.

Feldman

D. B.

(2021). Hope and fear in the midst of coronavirus: What accounts for COVID-19 preparedness? American Behavioral Scientist, 65(14), 1929–1950. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642211050900

25.

Fisher

C. B.

Tao

Liu

Giorgi

Curtis

B. L.

(2021). COVID-related victimization, racial bias and employment and housing disruption increase mental health risk among US Asian, Black and Latinx adults. Frontiers in Public Health, 9(10), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.772236

26.

Fitzgerald

(2014). The trouble with brain imaging: Hope, uncertainty and ambivalence in the neuroscience of autism. BioSocieties, 9(3), 241–261. https://doi.org/10.1057/biosoc.2014.15

27.

Folkman

(2013). Stress, coping, and hope (pp. 119–127). Psychological Aspects of Cancer. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.1836

28.

Freeston

M. H.

Rhéaume

Letarte

Dugas

M. J.

Ladouceur

(1994). Why do people worry? Personality and Individual Differences, 17(6), 791–802. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(94)90048-5

29.

Freeston

M. H.

Tiplady

Mawn

Bottesi

Thwaites

(2020). Towards a model of uncertainty distress in the context of Coronavirus (COVID-19). The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 13(6), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1754470X2000029X.

30.

Garfin

D. R.

Silver

R. C.

Holman

E. A.

(2020). The novel coronavirus (COVID-2019) outbreak: Amplification of public health consequences by media exposure. Health Psychology, 39(5), 355. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000875

31.

Gasparro

Scandurra

Maldonato

N. M.

Dolce

Bochicchio

Valletta

Sammartino

, (2020). Perceived job insecurity and depressive symptoms among Italian dentists: The moderating role of fear of COVID-19. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(15), 5338. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17155338

32.

Gasper

Clore

G. L.

(1998). The persistent use of negative affect by anxious individuals to estimate risk. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(5), 1350–1363. https://doi.org/10.1037/%2F0022-3514.74.5.1350

33.

Gentes

E. L.

Ruscio

A. M.

(2011). A meta-analysis of the relation of intolerance of uncertainty to symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(6), 923–933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.05.001

34.

Gong

(2019). Analysis on the employment dilemma of female college students in China. 2019 Asia-Pacific Conference on advance in Education, Learning and teaching. https://doi.org/10.26914/c.cnkihy.2019.037609

35.

Greco

Roger

(2001). Coping with uncertainty: The construction and validation of a new measure. Personality and Individual Differences, 31(4), 519–534. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00156-2

36.

Han

D. H.

Cho

Y. A.

(2015). Moderating effects of career optimism in the relationship between job seeking stress and suicide probability among undergraduates. Korea Journal of Counseling (In Korea), 16(1), 111–128. https://doi.org/10.15703/KJC.16.1.201502.111

37.

Hayes

A. F.

(2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford Publications. https://www.who.int/docs/defaultsource/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200202-sitrep-13-ncov-v3.pdf?sfvrsn=195f40106

38.

(2022). China’s 2022 graduates, especially Women, struggle to secure jobs. https://radii.co/article/2022-college-graduates

39.

Zhang

Chen

Zhang

Zou

Luo

(2020). Media exposure to COVID-19 predicted acute stress: A moderated mediation model of intolerance of uncertainty and perceived social support. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.613368

40.

S. M. Y.

J. W. C.

Pau

B. K. Y.

Hui

B. P. H.

Wong

R. S. M.

Chu

A. T. W.

(2012). Hope-based intervention for individuals susceptible to colorectal cancer: A pilot study. Familial Cancer, 11(4), 545–551. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10689-012-9545-3

41.

Hobfoll

S. E.

(1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513

42.

Zhou

(2020). The mind, the heart, and the leader in times of crisis: How and when COVID-19-triggered mortality salience relates to state anxiety, job engagement, and prosocial behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(11), 1218–1233. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl00006201218

43.

Kang

Chi

(2021). The relationship between job-seeking anxiety and depression of face-to-face service major students under COVID-19: Moderating effect of positive psychological capital. The Association of Korea Counseling Psychology Education Welfare, 25(4), 177–191. https://doi.org/10.20496/cpew.2021.8.3.177

44.

Karatas

Tagay

Ö.

(2021). The relationships between resilience of the adults affected by the covid pandemic in Turkey and Covid-19 fear, meaning in life, life satisfaction, intolerance of uncertainty and hope. Personality and Individual Differences, 172(4), 110592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110592

45.

Karatas

Uzun

Tagay

(2021). Relationships between the life satisfaction, meaning in life, hope and covid-19 fear for Turkish adults during the covid-19 outbreak. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(3), 633384. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.633384

46.

Kennedy

Evans

Sandhu

(2009). Psychological adjustment to spinal cord injury: The contribution of coping, hope and cognitive appraisals. Psychology Health & Medicine, 14(1), 17–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548500802001801

47.

Kennedy

Lude

Elfström

M. L.

Smithson

(2012). Appraisals, coping and adjustment pre and post SCI rehabilitation: A 2-year follow-up study. Spinal Cord, 50(2), 112–118. https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.2011.127

48.

Kirmani

M. N.

Sharma

Anas

Sanam

(2015). Hope, resilience and subjective well-being among college going adolescent girls. International Journal of Humanities & Social Science Studies, 2(1), 262–270. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:56330431

49.

Koerner

Dugas

M. J.

(2008). An investigation of appraisals in individuals vulnerable to excessive worry: The role of intolerance of uncertainty. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 32(5), 619–638. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-007-9125-2

50.

Kwok

K. O.

K. K.

Chan

H. H. H.

Y. Y.

Tang

Wei

W. I.

Wong

S. Y. S.

(2020). Community responses during early phase of COVID-19 epidemic, Hong Kong. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 26(7), 1575–1579. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2607.200500

51.

Ladouceur

Gosselin

Dugas

M. J.

(2000). Experimental manipulation of intolerance of uncertainty: A study of a theoretical model of worry. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 38(9), 933–941. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(99)00133-3

52.

Laugesen

Dugas

M. J.

Bukowski

W. M.

(2003). Understanding adolescent worry: The application of a cognitive model. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 31(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021721332181

53.

Lee

Schmidt-Klau

Verick

(2020). The labour market impacts of the COVID-19: A global perspective. Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 63(1), 11–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-020-00249-y

54.

Lee

Y. C.

W. L.

Lee

C. K.

(2021). How COVID-19 triggers our herding behavior? Risk perception, state anxiety, and trust. Frontiers in Public Health, 9(2), 587439. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.587439

55.

Luo

Zhang

Meng

Dai

Liu

(2021). Intolerance of covid-19-related uncertainty and negative emotions among Chinese adolescents: A moderated mediation model of risk perception, social exclusion and perceived efficacy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(6), 2864. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18062864

56.

Lin

(2020). Nearly 70% of Guangdong college students are afraid of not finding a job. China Youth News. https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1662147230738807750&wfr=spider&for=pc

57.

Liu

Raju

(2020). Challenges and opportunities of Chinese college students’ employment environment based on swot theory. International Journal of Educational Research, 8(6), 139–146. http://www.ijern.com/journal/2020/June-2020/12.pdf

58.

Madan

Pakenham

K. I.

(2014). The stress-buffering effects of hope on adjustment to multiple sclerosis. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 21(6), 877–890. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105313509868

59.

Mahmud

M. S.

Talukder

M. U.

Rahman

S. M.

(2021). Does ‘fear of COVID-19’ trigger future career anxiety? An empirical investigation considering depression from COVID-19 as a mediator. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 67(1), 35–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764020935488

60.

Martin-Krumm

Delas

Lafrenière

M.-A.

Fenouillet

Lopez

S. J.

(2014). The structure of the state hope scale. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 10(3), 272–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2014.936964

61.

Masten

A. S.

(2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56(3), 227–238. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066X.56.3.227

62.

Mednick

Cogen

Henderson

Rohrbeck

C. A.

Kitessa

Streisand

(2007). Hope more, worry less: Hope as a potential resilience factor in mothers of very young children with type 1 diabetes. Children's Health Care, 36(4), 385–396. https://doi.org/10.1080/02739610701601403

63.

Miller-Smedema

Catalano

Ebener

D. J.

(2010). The relationship of coping, self-worth, and subjective well-being: A structural equation model. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 53(3), 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1177/0034355209358272

64.

Mirhosseini

Dadgari

A. A.

Basirinezhad

M. H.

Mohammadpourhodki

Ebrahimi

(2020). The role of hope to alleviate anxiety in COVID-19 outbreak among community dwellers: An online cross-sectional survey. Annals Academy of Medicine Singapore, 49(10), 723–730. https://doi.org/10.47102/annals-acadmedsg.2020341

65.

Morrison

Kennedy

(2022). China’s zero-covid: What should the west do? Center for strategic and international studies. https://www.csis.org/analysis/chinas-zero-covid-what-should-west-do

66.

Park

H.-J.

(2021). Job-seeking anxiety of North Korean defectors in the early stages of their entry from the perspective of career counselors. Journal of Wellness (in Korean), 16(4), 323–331. https://doi.org/10.21097/ksw.2021.11.16.4.323

67.

People’s Government of Guangdong Province (2021). Number of COVID-19 cases in Guangdong Province on February 9, 2021.http://www.gd.gov.cn/zwgk/zdlyxxgkzl/zhsgjy/yljh/content/post_3224925.html

68.

Rafi

M. A.

Mamun

Hsan

Hossain

Gozal

(2019). Psychological implications of unemployment among Bangladesh civil service job seekers: A pilot study. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10(8), 578. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00578

69.

Rajabimajd

Alimoradi

Griffiths

(2021). Impact of covid-19-related fear and anxiety on job attributes: A systematic review. Asian Journal of Social Health and Behavior, 4(2), 51–55. https://doi.org/10.4103/shb.shb_24_21

70.

Rand

K. L.

(2009). Hope and optimism: Latent structures and influences on grade expectancy and academic performance. Journal of Personality, 77(1), 231–260. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00544.x

71.

Ren

H. J.

(2010). The characteristics and relationship between employment anxiety and career decision-making difficulties of college graduates (Master’s Thesis. Henan University. https://kns.cnki.net/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbname=CMFD2010&filename=2010154568.nh

72.

Rudenstine

Schulder

Ettman

C. K.

Galea

(2022). Perceived coping mitigates anxiety symptoms in the context of COVID-19 stress in an urban university student sample. Psychological Reports, 126(4), 1620–1641. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941221074038

73.

Saricam

Deveci

Ahmetoğlu

(2020). The examination of hope, intolerance of uncertainty and resilience levels in parents having disabled children. Global Journal of Psychology Research, 10(1), 118–131. https://doi.org/10.18844/gjpr.v%vi%i.4398

74.

Satici

Saricali

Satici

S. A.

Griffiths

M. D.

(2022). Intolerance of uncertainty and mental wellbeing: Serial mediation by rumination and fear of COVID-19. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 20(5), 2731–2742. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00305-0

75.

Scheier

M. F.

Carver

C. S.

(1985). Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology, 4(3), 219–247. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.4.3.219

76.

Seligman

M. E. P.

Csikszentmihalyi

(2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.5

77.

Şentürk

S. G.

Bakır

(2021). The relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and the depression, anxiety and stress levels of nursing students during the Covid-19 outbreak. Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, 3(2), 97–105. https://doi.org/10.35365/ctjpp.21.2.12

78.

Sjöberg

(2000). The methodology of risk perception research. Quality and Quantity, 34(4), 407–418. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004838806793

79.

Snyder

C. R.

(1995). Conceptualizing, measuring, and nurturing hope. Journal of Counseling and Development, 73(3), 355–360. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1995.tb01764.x.

80.

Snyder

C. R.

Harris

Anderson

J. R.

Holleran

S. A.

Irving

L. M.

Sigmon

S. T.

Harney

(1991). The will and the ways: Development and validation of an individual-differences measure of hope. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(4), 570–585. https://doi.org/10.1037/00223514.60.4.570

81.

Snyder

C. R.

Lopez

S. J.

Shorey

H. S.

Rand

K. L.

Feldman

D. B.

(2003). Hope theory, measurements, and applications to school psychology. School Psychology Quarterly, 18(2), 122. https://doi.org/10.1521/scpq.18.2.122.21854

82.

Snyder

C. R.

Sympson

S. C.

Ybasco

F. C.

Borders

T. F.

Babyak

M. A.

Higgins

R. L.

(1996). Development and validation of the state hope scale. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(2), 321. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.2.321

83.

Sun

Wang

Shen

(2021). The relationship between employment pressure and occupational delay of gratification among college students: Positive psychological capital as a mediator. Current Psychology, 40(6), 2814–2819. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00209-w

84.

Taha

Matheson

Cronin

Anisman

(2014b). Intolerance of uncertainty, appraisals, coping, and anxiety: The case of the 2009 H 1 N 1 pandemic. British Journal of Health Psychology, 19(3), 592–605. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12058

85.

Taha

S. A.

Matheson

Anisman

(2014a). H1N1 was not all that scary: Uncertainty and stressor appraisals predict anxiety related to a coming viral threat. Stress and Health, 30(2), 149–157. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2505

86.

Tull

M. T.

Barbano

A. C.

Scamaldo

K. M.

Richmond

J. R.

Edmonds

K. A.

Rose

J. P.

Gratz

K. L.

(2020). The prospective influence of COVID-19 affective risk assessments and intolerance of uncertainty on later dimensions of health anxiety. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 75(10), 102290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102290

87.

Wang

Zhou

Chen

Yang

Chen

Gong

(2017). Hope and the brain: Trait hope mediates the protective role of medial orbitofrontal cortex spontaneous activity against anxiety. NeuroImage, 157(8), 439–447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.05.056

88.

Wei

Mei

Shouying

(2020). The relationship between employment social support and employment anxiety in newly-graduated college students: A moderated mediation model. Chinese Journal of Special Education (In Chinese), 239(5), 84–89.

89.

Yang

Hall

D. L.

Jiao

Huang

Jiao

(2021). COVID-19 uncertainty and sleep: The roles of perceived stress and intolerance of uncertainty during the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak. BMC Psychiatry, 21(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-021-03310-2

90.

L. J.

Wang

J. N.

X. D.

(2016). Validity and reliability of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-12 in middle school students (in Chinese). Chinese Mental Health Journal, 30(9), 700–706.

91.

Yıldırım

Güler

(2020). Factor analysis of the COVID-19 perceived risk scale: A preliminary study. Death Studies, 46(5), 1065–1072. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2020.1784311

92.

Chen

(2022). Relationship among social capital, employment uncertainty, anxiety, and suicidal behaviors: A chained multi-mediator mediation modeling analysis. Archives of Suicide Research, 26(1), 261–279. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2020.1793044

93.

Zhao

Yang

Zeng

Chen

Liu

Huang

(2022a). The impulsive online shopper: Effects of covid-19 burnout, uncertainty, self-control, and online shopping trust. Future Business Journal, 8(1), 58. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-022-00174-0

94.

Zhao

Wang

Zeng

(2022b). The intolerance of uncertainty and “untact” buying behavior: The mediating role of the perceived risk of COVID-19 variants and protection motivation. Frontiers in Psychology, 13(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.807331

95.

Zhou

Zhen

(2018). Self-esteem and hope mediate the relations between social support and post-traumatic stress disorder and growth in adolescents following the Ya’an earthquake. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 31(1), 32–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2017.1374376

The Association Between Intolerance of Uncertainty and Job-Seeking Anxiety: A Moderated Mediation Model

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Intolerance of Uncertainty and Job-Seeking Anxiety Relation

Perceived Risk of COVID-19 as a Mediator

Hope as a Moderator

The Present Study

Method

Participants

Measures

Intolerance of Uncertainty

Job-Seeking Anxiety

Perceived Risk of COVID-19

Hope

Analytical Methods

Results

Correlation Analyses

Testing for Mediation Effect

Moderated Mediation Effect Analysis

Discussion

Intolerance of Uncertainty and Job-Seeking Anxiety

The Mediating Role of the Perceived Risk of COVID-19

The Moderating Role of Hope

Limitations and Future Directions

Practical Implications

Conclusions

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

Funding

ORCID iD

Author Biographies

References