The predictors of career stress among university students are career decision self-efficacy, career adaptability, and career planning attitudes

Eliminating the negative effects of career stress, which is seen as one of the current and widespread career problems, is primarily possible by identifying the factors and causes associated with this problem. Based on this, the aim of the research is to examine the factors of career decision self-efficacy, career adaptability, and career planning attitudes as predictors of career stress among university students. A total of 894 university students from various universities participated in the study. The participants were selected using a convenience sampling method and contributed to the study online via a survey created with the support of Google Forms. The participants were administered the 'Personal Information Form', the 'Career Stress Scale' (Özden and Sertel-Berk, 2017), the 'Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale Short Form' (Akın et al., 2014), the 'Career Adaptability Scale Short Form' (Işık et al., 2018), and the 'Career Futures Inventory' (Kalafat, 2012). The research utilized a relational survey model. Data analysis was conducted using the SPSS 26 statistical program. During the data analysis phase, independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis were used. According to the findings of the research, there is a significant relationship between university students' career stress and factors such as age, grade level, the reason for choosing their field of study, mother's education level, and the perception of self-efficacy in professions related to their field. According to other results of the research, career decision self-efficacy, career adaptability, and career planning attitudes are negatively related to career stress. It was found that career decision self-efficacy and career planning attitudes are significant predictors of career stress. It was concluded that career adaptability, one of the variables of the research, does not predict participants' career stress. In the final section, some suggestions are provided based on the results of the research to contribute to the relevant literature and shed light on new studies.