An Investigation of The Mediating and The Role of Personality and Social Factors Underlying Career Anxiety in Undergraduate Students

Examine the job-seeking anxiety among undergraduate students, as well as discover the factors that affect this.

The career anxiety of Gen Z 

Project is Not Currently Available

This project has reached full capacity for the current term. Please check back next semester for updates.

Project description

Many college students report experiencing overwhelming anxiety related to career indecision. That is, students often express feeling the pressure to stand out and pursue a good career, which may prevent them from career decision-making. The amount of stress one experiences associated with worrying about their future career is known as career anxiety (Keshabyan, 2020). Many factors influence career anxiety, but social competence and intolerance to uncertainty are two factors that have been shown to escalate the anxiety and may impact career decision making. In this present study, we aim to study career anxiety and the mediating role of social competence and intolerance to uncertainty on career anxiety. We hypothesis that higher levels of social competence would decrease levels of career anxiety and higher levels of intolerance of uncertainty would increase levels of career anxiety in undergraduate students. The study is cross sectional research. The data will be collected through surveys to investigate the career anxiety and the mediating factors

The pilot study will survey 3rd-year students and examine the role of social and personality factors on their career anxiety. The second study will compare 1st and 3rd-year students on their level of career anxiety and to understand the extent of the impact of the social and personality factors on their career anxiety. This study aims to explore the extent students experience the highest levels of career anxiety, and the type of career anxiety experienced. The study will help us better identify what kind of intervention can help students cope with anxiety.

Project outcome

Career anxiety will affect both career planning and decision. The result will help educationists and career counselors to design and implement more appropriate interventional and innovative programs for the management of career stress and social adjustment throughout their academic years. 

Project details

Timing, eligibility and other details
Length of commitment Longer than a semester; 6-9 months
Start time Fall 2023
In-person, remote, or hybrid? In-Person Project 
Level of collaboration Small group project (2-3 students) 
Benefits None 
Who is eligible Sophomores, Juniors & Seniors who have Basic knowledge of research methods, time management, attention to detail 

Core partners

  • Dr Reena Dabas
  • Dr Chew Li Mei 

Project mentor

Reena Dabas

Associate Lecturer

Psychology

Phone: (737) 330-7992

Email: rreena@buffalo.edu

Start the project

  1. Email the project mentor using the contact information above to express your interest and get approval to work on the project. (Here are helpful tips on how to contact a project mentor.)
  2. After you receive approval from the mentor to start this project, click the button to start the digital badge. (Learn more about ELN's digital badge options.) 
Start the Digital Badge

Preparation activities

Once you begin the digital badge series, you will have access to all the necessary activities and instructions. Your mentor has indicated they would like you to also complete the specific preparation activities below. Please reference this when you get to Step 2 of the Preparation Phase. 

  • Meet with the project mentor
  • Read 5 articles on career anxiety and write one page summary of each article.

Keywords

Psychology