The relationship between career adaptability, job search self-efficacy, and EFL college students' employment anxiety: the perspective of proactive personality.

Background: In the current era where career prospects are highly uncertain, EFL college students generally encounter the real-life predicament of employment anxiety. Although existing research has devoted some attention to the issue of employment anxiety, our understanding of the underlying psychological mechanisms involved in alleviating this anxiety remains limited. To address this, this study drew on Social Cognitive Career Theory to look at how career adaptability relates to employment anxiety in EFL college students. It also explored the mediating role of job search self-efficacy and the moderating role of proactive personality. Method: This study collected data from 916 EFL college students using stratified convenient sampling. Participants completed the survey through an online platform. Path analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro in SPSS. Results: The results show that career adaptability is significantly negatively correlated with employment anxiety. Job search self-efficacy partially mediates this relationship, accounting for 33.78% of the total effect. Students with higher proactive personality scores are better able to use career adaptability and job search self-efficacy to cope with employment anxiety. Inter-group difference analysis indicates that EFL college students of different genders and grades have significant differences in employment anxiety. Conclusion: This study offers the deeper understanding of how internal resources and positive personality traits interact to help people cope with employment anxiety. These findings offer the empirical basis for the optimization of mental health education and employment guidance services in colleges and universities.