The impact of adult attachment on career decision-making in Chinese college students: the chain mediating role of self-differentiation and social support

The findings validate an emotion-psychology-resource transformation mechanism, demonstrating how secure attachment optimizes decisions through self-differentiation and social support. However, collectivist cultural contexts attenuated self-differentiation's standalone effects. The results advocate integrated interventions combining emotional regulation and resource mobilization, proposing stage-specific guidance: psychological empowerment for early undergraduates and practical resource provision for seniors. Limitations include regional sampling bias and scale cultural adaptability; future cross-cultural longitudinal studies are warranted.