International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

search-icon

Relationship between Proactive Personality, Perceived Social Support, and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy among Final-Year Students in Public Universities of Selangor

Open access
Studying career decision-making self-efficacy among final-year students is crucial because it affects students' readiness and confidence in making informed career choices. Understanding factors such as proactive personality traits and perceived social support ultimately leads to improved career outcomes and reduced uncertainty. The study aimed to determine the relationships between proactive personality, perceived social support, and career decision-making self-efficacy among final-year students in public universities in Selangor, Malaysia. 359 respondents selected through simple random sampling, participated in the study. Data were collected via self-administered questionnaires using the Proactive Personality Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Short Form. Statistical analysis used were the Pearson correlation and multiple regression. Findings revealed that the respondents’ proactive personalities were at a medium level, while perceived social support and career decision-making self-efficacy were at a high level. Moreover, findings indicated positive significant relationships between proactive personality and perceived social support with career decision-making self-efficacy. The multiple regression analysis showed that proactive personality and perceived social support explained 44.6% variances in career decision-making self-efficacy. These findings suggest that enhancing individuals' proactive personality traits and increasing their perceived social support could substantially improve their confidence in making career decisions.
Angeline, J., & Rathnasabapathy, M. (2021). Influence of perceived social support on career decision-making self-efficacy among undergraduate students. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education, 12(7), 1824-1829.
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioural change. Psychological Review, 84, 191-215.
Bateman, T. S., & Crant, J. M. (1993). The proactive component of organizational behavior: A measure and correlates. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 14(2), 103118. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030140202
Betz, N. E., Klein, K. L., Taylor, K. M. (1996). Evaluation of a short form of the career decision-making self-efficacy scale. Journal of Career Assess, 4, 47–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/106907279600400103
Chan, C. C. (2016). The relationship among social support, career self-efficacy, career exploration, and career choices of Taiwanese college athletes. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sports & Tourism Education, 22, 105-109.
Chen, S., Chen, H., Ling, H., & Gu, X. (2021). How do students become good workers? Investigating the impact of gender and school on the relationship between career decision-making self-efficacy and career exploration. Sustainability, 13 (14), 7876. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147876.
Hamzah, S. R., Khoo, K. L., & Musa, S. N. S. (2021). The mediating role of career decision self-efficacy on the relationship of career emotional intelligence and self-esteem and career adaptability among university students. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 26(1), 83-93. DOI: 10.1080/02673843.2021.1886952.
He, Z., Zhou, Y., Li, F., Rao, Z., & Yang, Y. (2020). The effect of proactive personality on college students’ career decision-making difficulties: Moderating and mediating effects. Journal of Adult Development, 28, 116-125.
International Labour Organization. (2023). Economic slowdown likely to force workers to accept lower quality jobs. Retrieved from: https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_865256/lang--en/index.html
Jun, W., Khir, A. M., & Ma’rof, A. A. (2024). How is social support associated with depressive tendencies? The mediating role of self-efficacy. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 14(2), 1020–1031.
Kim, H. S., & Park, I. J. (2017). Influence of proactive personality on career self-efficacy. Journal of Employment Counseling, 54 (4), 168-182.
Kim, H. & Ra, Y.A. (2022). Effect of academic self-efficacy and career decision level on career preparation behavior of South Korean college students. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 19(20): 13705. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192013705.
Kocak, O., Ak, N., Erdem, S. S., Sinan, M., Younis, M. Z., & Erdogan, A. (2021). The role of family influence and academic satisfaction on career decision-making self-efficacy and happiness. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (11), 5919. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18115919
Kulcsar, V., Dobrean, A., & Gati, I. (2019). Challenges and difficulties in career decision making: Their causes, and their effects on the process and the decision. Journal of Vocational Behaviour. 116. 103346. DOI: 10.1016/j.jvb.2019.103346.
Lee, S. J. (2019). The effects of social support perceived by career-interrupted women on career preparation behavior: focus on mediating effects of career decision self-efficacy. Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information, 24(12), 109–117. https://doi.org/10.9708/jksci.2019.24.12.109
Liu, X., Yan, Y., & Wang, P. (2019). The relationship between high school students’ proactive personality and career adaptability: multiple mediating effects of career decision-making self-efficacy and career barrier perception. Advances in Education, 9(6), 708-719.
Khir, A., Rodzuwan, N. A., Md. Noor, A., Wan Jaafar, W. M., & Hassan, M. M. (2020). Sokongan Sosial, Penghargaan Kendiri dan Kemurungan dalam kalangan Mahasiswa di Universiti. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH), 5(11), 33 - 42. https://doi.org/10.47405/mjssh.v5i11.547Nabavi, R. T., & Bijandi, M. S. (2012). Bandura's Social Learning Theory & Social Cognitive Learning Theory.
Nabavi, R. T. (2012) Bandura’s Social Learning Theory & Social Cognitive Learning Theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1, 589.
Park, I. J., Kim. M., Kwon, S., & Lee, H. G. (2018). The Relationships of Self-Esteem, Future Time Perspective, Positive Affect, Social Support, and Career Decision: A Longitudinal Multilevel Study. Front Psychol, 9, 514. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00514
Preston, M., & Salim, R. M. A. (2019). Career decision-making attribution, proactive personality, and career decision self-efficacy in gifted high-school students. Psychology and Education, 57(4): 221-225.
Ramadhani, R., & Suharso, P. L. (2021). How proactive personality mediates the relationship between parental involvement and career decision self-efficacy. Psychology and Education, 58 (2), 135-140.
Rami, A. A. M., Zaini, S. N. M., & Aziz, M. F. A. (2021). Career decision making among Malaysian university students. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 10(2), 703–714.
Saleem, T., Aly, M., & Gul, S. (2017). Career decision-making self-efficacy, goal stability and academic achievement among university students. European Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Research, 4(8), 20-25.
Seok, H. J., & Lee, J. S. (2019). Impact of social support of students majoring fashion in colleges on career decision-making self-efficacy and behaviours preparing a further career. Journal of the Korea Fashion & Costume Design Association, 21(4), 1-16.
Situmorang, D. D. B., & Salim, R. M. A. (2021). Perceived parenting styles, thinking styles, and gender on the career decision self-efficacy of adolescents: how and why? Heliyon, 7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06430
Vilanova, A., & Puig, N. (2016). Personal strategies for managing a second career: the experiences of Spanish Olympians. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 51 (5), 529-546. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690214536168
Wasif, S., Sohail, M., & Nawab, M. (2020). Significance of perceived social support for career decision self-efficacy: a correlational study. Foundation University Journal of Psychology. DOI 10.33897/fujp.v4i2.73.
Xin, L., Tang, F., Li, M., & Zhou, W. (2020). From school to work: improving graduates’ career decision-making self-efficacy. Sustainability, 12(3), 804. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12030804.
Zhang, L., Wang, X., Fan, W., & Li, Y. (2023). Contributions to proactive personality to career decision self-efficacy: mediating effect of positive affect and moderating roles of social class and gender. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05014-0.
Zhou, S., Wu, S., Yu, X., Chen, W., & Zheng, W. (2021). Employment stress as a moderator of the relationship between proactive personality and career decision-making self-efficacy. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 49 (10, 1-13(13).
Sivanesan, N., & Khir, A. M. (2024). Relationship between Proactive Personality, Perceived Social Support, and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy among Final-Year Students in Public Universities of Selangor. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 14(10), 1717–1734.