How does career-related parental support enhance career adaptability: the multiple mediating roles of resilience and hope

Career-related parental support plays an important role in career adaptability. However, the condition and mechanism of parental career-related support on four dimensions of career adaptability are little known. Guided by the social cognitive career theory, positive psychological capital theory, and career construction theory, the current study investigates resilience and hope as two potential mediators between career-related parental support and different aspects of career adaptability. A sample of 636 vocational high school students responded to this study. The results indicated that: (a) students who often discussed future career plans with their parents had a higher level of career concern, career control, career curiosity, and career confidence than those who occasionally or never discussed future career plans; (b) career-related parental support positively related to the four dimensions of career adaptability; (c) parental career-related support was associated with more resilience, which related to a higher level of hope; ultimately, more hope related to higher career adaptabilities (i.e., career concern, career control, career curiosity, and career confidence); (d) parental career-related support related to different aspects of career adaptability through indirect pathways by more resilience or more hope. These findings advise educators to give various career-related support and pertinent career training to vocational high school students.