The Influence of Family on Career Choice and Career Construction Among Emerging Adults: The Mediating Role of Career Stress

This study investigated the mediating role of career stress in the relationship between family influence on career choice and career construction among emerging adults. Utilizing a quantitative correlational survey design data were collected via online surveys from a sample of emerging adults in Turkey. Structural validity of the measurement model was confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis and the hypothesized mediation pathways were tested using bootstrapping methods. Correlation analyses revealed that family influence was negatively associated with career stress and positively associated with career construction. Furthermore mediation analysis demonstrated that family influence significantly and negatively predicted career stress which in turn exerted a negative impact on career construction. Career stress was found to play a partial mediating role in this relationship. These findings suggest that supportive family environments serve as a crucial stress-buffering mechanism that ultimately optimizes the career construction process for emerging adults.