From Career Distress to Vocational Identity in male students: The Mediating Role of Meaning of Life and Career Exploration

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Master’s in Career Counseling, Department of Counseling, Faculty of Social Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Counseling, Faculty of Social Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

3 Ph.D. Student in Counseling, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

10.22098/pbeo.2026.19373.1081

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating role of meaning of life and career exploration in the relationship between career distress and vocational identity among students. A total of 250 students were selected using a multi-stage cluster sampling method. Method: Data were collected using the Vocational Identity Questionnaire (Gupta et al., 2015), the Career Distress Scale (Creed et al., 2015), the Career Exploration Survey (Stumpf et al., 1983), and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (Steger et al., 2006), and were analyzed through structural equation modeling. Results: The results indicated that the relationship between career distress and vocational identity was influenced by the mediating variables of meaning of life and career exploration, which could partially moderate the negative effect of career distress on vocational identity. Conclusion: These findings suggest that strengthening meaning of life and enhancing career exploration processes can help reduce the negative consequences of career distress and improve the formation of vocational identity in students. Accordingly, counseling and educational interventions focusing on these two components may achieve greater effectiveness in promoting adolescents’ career development.

Keywords

Positive Behavior in Educational Organizations
Volume 3, Issue 3
September 2025

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