Objective: This study examined the mechanism of career-specific parental behaviors on college students’ employability based on theories of career development stages, ecosystem theory, and the social cognitive theory of career exploration. Methods: The Employability Scale, the Career-specific Parental Behaviors Scale, the Adolescent-Parent Career Congruence Scale, and the Career Exploration Scale were used to study 864 college students. Results: The results showed that: (1) Career-specific parental behaviors significantly and positively predicted college students’ job search behaviours and job search self-efficacy; (2) Career exploration mediated the effects of career-specific parental behaviors on college students’ employability; (3) The variable of adolescent-parent career congruence moderated the effects of career exploration on college students’ employability, as well as the direct path effects. Conclusion: Career-specific parental behaviors affect college students’ employability through career exploration, and this effect is moderated by adolescent-parent career congruence.
Tianbei et al. (Thu,) studied this question.