Adolescent–Parent Career Congruence and Vocational Identity Among Chinese College Students: A Moderated Mediation Model

Vocational identity is crucial for adaptive career development in young adults and is often strongly shaped by parental expectations and support regarding career goals (e.g., adolescent–parent career congruence). This may be particularly pronounced in China, where parents usually hold high career aspirations for their children. Parental influence would occur through individuals’ psychological capital (e.g., resilience and self-efficacy), and it may differ by gender. The purposes of this study were to examine a hypothesized association between adolescent–parent career congruence (i.e., supplementary congruence and complementary congruence) and vocational identity among college students, with psychological capital as a mediator and gender as a moderator. Cross-sectional data were collected from a total of 966 Chinese college students (463 male; 20.72 ± 1.35 years old) who completed the Adolescent–Parent Career Congruence Scale, Vocational Identity Measure, and Positive Psychological Capital Questionnaire. Findings indicated that adolescent–parent career congruence was positively associated with vocational identity, and this relationship was partially mediated by psychological capital. Gender moderated the relationships between supplementary congruence and both vocational identity and psychological capital, with stronger effects observed in females than in males. The moderated mediation model proposed in this study provides insights for future interventions designed to enhance vocational identity and adaptive career development in young populations.