Mental health's shaping influence on college students' career choices: evidence from L University in Fujian Province, China.

Objective: To investigate the shaping of college students' mental health on their career choices, considering the influences of gender, year of enrollment, mental health determinants and their interaction on these choices. Methods: Multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze the mental health and employment data of students at L University in Fujian Province, China. Three models were developed with career choice as the dependent variable. Model 1 comprises solely gender and enrollment year. Model 2 incorporates mental health variables, while Model 3 includes the interaction terms of mental health factors with gender and enrollment year. Results: Model 1 suggests that men are less inclined to choose female-dominated sectors-such as finance and public services, service industry-and are more likely to pursue self-employment. Students who enrolled in 2018 and graduated during economic recovery had broader employment opportunities than those who enrolled in 2019 and graduated during economic downturn. Model 2 reflects that external stress might compel vocational students to explore alternative career paths. Conversely, severe psychopathology diminishes confidence and restricts opportunities in organized domains such as finance and public services. Social difficulties and romantic distress exemplify occupation-specific inclinations related to interpersonal dynamics. Model 3 shows that gender and enrollment year moderate these effects. For instance, men would address emotional and stress-related challenges through proactive strategies, but the 2019 cohort exhibited heightened sensitivity to social difficulties and external stress due to adverse macroeconomic situations. Conclusion: Mental health significantly influences college students' job decisions, with variations noted by gender and enrollment year. External stress and severe psychopathology are crucial factors that either facilitate adaptive coping or impede self-efficacy in the setting of economic adversity. The impacts are most evident in vocational universities, where students' employment preparation and employment expectations amplify psychological consequences. University administrators should implement mental health interventions and career counseling workshops customized for each gender and enrollment cohort, in order to improve students' self-efficacy, emotional resilience, and adaptability to fluctuations in the employment market.