Young emerging adults' graduateness and career adaptability - exploring the moderating role of self-esteem.

Abstract

This study investigated the moderating role of self-esteem on young emerging adults' in their school-to-work transition phase of graduateness skills and career adaptability. A non-probability convenience sample (n = 332) of undergraduate black (98.5%) and female (62%) and young emerging adults (18-29 years) at a Further Education and Training (FET) college in South Africa participated in the study. Participants completed the Culture Free Self-esteem Inventory for Adults (CFSEI 2-AD, Battle, 1992), the Graudate Skills and Attributes Scale (GSAS, Coetzee, 2010) and the Career Adaptabilities Scale (CAAS, Savickas & Porfeli, 2012). Hierarchical moderated regression analysis indicated significant interaction effects between self-esteem and overall graduateness, lifelong learning and global/moral citizenship skills and attributes in moderating overall career adaptability. The relationship between the particiipants' graduateness skills and attributes (overall graduateness, global/moral citizenship, and lifelong learning) and their carer adaptability was significantly stronger when their self-esteem was high than when their self-esteem was low. The finding suggest personal self-esteem to influence self-perceived graduateness skills and career adaptability in emerging adults.