Mediating and Moderating Influences of Career Decision‐Making Self‐Efficacy and Social Support on the Relationship Between Employment Stress and Job‐Seeking Anxiety Among Chinese College Students

ABSTRACT Higher education presents substantial challenges as students navigate diverse academic and career expectations. In China, final‐year university students experience considerable stress due to societal, familial, and personal pressures related to employment. This study examined the relationships among employment stress (ES), job‐seeking anxiety (JSA), career decision‐making self‐efficacy (CDMSE), and social support (SS), focusing on the mediating role of CDMSE and the moderating role of SS in the ES–JSA relationship. Using a quantitative, cross‐sectional design, data were collected from 800 final‐year students at two universities in Chongqing, China, through structured questionnaires and a multistage sampling strategy involving cluster sampling and stratified quota‐based recruitment. Structural equation modeling (SEM), supplemented by PROCESS‐based robustness checks, showed that ES significantly and positively predicted JSA. CDMSE partially mediated the relationship between ES and JSA, whereas SS moderated this association by weakening the adverse effect of ES on JSA. The findings refine understanding of employment‐related psychological adaptation by supporting an integrated framework combining stress process theory, social cognitive theory, and the social support buffering model. These findings provide theoretical and practical implications for reducing job‐seeking anxiety among Chinese university students.