The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effects of maternal psychological control and career identity of university students on basic psychological need for determination, as well as, on sub-factors of autonomy, competence, and relatabil...
The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effects of maternal psychological control and career identity of university students on basic psychological need for determination, as well as, on sub-factors of autonomy, competence, and relatability. This study will provide appropriate and practical advice on counseling university students concerned about career path and aptitude.
The research data was gathered through offline and online surveys by convenient sampling method. 254 sets of data was ultimately used to derive the study results. The survey data included questions that measured maternal control, career identity, and basic psychological need for determination; including autonomy, competence, and relatability. The data was used to calculate for descriptive statistics quantity, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis; Sobel test was conducted on the research material through Windows SPSS 18.0 statistical package.
The results of this study can be summarized as follows:
First, the correlation analysis of maternal psychological control, career identity, and sub-factors of basic psychological need for determination revealed that maternal psychological control had a statistically significant negative correlation on career identity and sub-factors of basic psychological need for determination, including autonomy, competence, and relatability.
Secondly, multiple regression analysis was conducted and verified mediating effects of maternal psychological control of university students and career identity on sub-factors of basic psychological need for determination, including autonomy and competence. However, maternal psychological control and career identity did not have significant influence on relatability. Because, there was a lack of study conducted on the correlation between relatability and career-related variables; it is necessary to continue to research this further.
This study is significant in that it proves the mediating effects of maternal psychological control and career identity over university students on basic psychological need for determination. The approach for this research is supported by personal external variables and personal internal variables considered in the previous study (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). Also, by confirming the effect of maternal psychological control in development and career identity of university students, the research showed notable differentiation between maternal and paternal psychological control as identified (유혜경, 2004: Chang et al., 2003); leading to further detailed and comprehensive research.
Finally, the significance of this research extends to the actual process of counseling university students and the guidance it can provide. Hopefully, this research will bring insight into the mediating effects of maternal psychological control, interference, and restriction on upbringing and bring about change to promote and improve basic psychological need for determination for college students struggling to choose a career path.