Adolescent–Parent Career Congruence and Career Adaptability in High School Students: Learning Factors’ Mediation

Abstract

Drawing on the career construction theory model, this study explores how adolescents’ career adaptability is shaped by their ongoing interactions with social experiences and family, particularly parents. A questionnaire was administered to 1200 Chinese senior high school students to test the hypotheses. The results showed that the level of perceived career congruence with parents positively associated with students’ career adaptability. Learning commitment and learning autonomy partially mediated the relationship between perceived career congruence with parents and career adaptability, with mediating effect values of 0.116 and 0.033, respectively. Learning commitment and learning autonomy sequentially played a mediating role in the relationship between perceived career congruence with parents and career adaptability, with a serial mediating effect value of 0.031. The study underscores the significance of both environmental factors (parent–child congruence) and individual factors (learning commitment and learning autonomy) in relating to career adaptability among Chinese adolescents.