Shaping future career success in Chinese adolescents: a chain mediation model of perceived parental career support, future work self-salience, and academic engagement

Grounded primarily in Career Construction Theory, this study examined the association between perceived parental career support and career adaptability among Chinese adolescents and tested whether future work self-salience and academic engagement were involved in this association as potential mediators. In the Chinese senior high school context, students are often required to make consequential educational and career-related decisions while access to systematic career education may be uneven, making family-based resources particularly salient. Although previous studies have linked perceived parental career support, future-oriented self-concepts, and engagement to career development outcomes, the sequential mechanism involving future work self-salience and academic engagement has rarely been examined in adolescent samples. Using a cross-sectional paper-and-pencil survey conducted in 2024, the study included 778 students in Grades 10-12 from a senior high school in Guizhou, China (M = 16.89, SD = 1.06; 41% male). Pearson correlation analyses and bootstrapped mediation analyses (PROCESS Model 6, 5,000 resamples) showed that perceived parental career support, future work self-salience, and academic engagement were all positively associated with career adaptability. Significant indirect associations were observed through future work self-salience, through academic engagement, and through the sequential pathway from future work self-salience to academic engagement. These findings highlight the potential relevance of coordinated school-family support for adolescents’ career development, while the cross-sectional design does not allow conclusions about causal direction.