The Effect of College Students' Career Identity on Dropout Intention Through the Mediating of Depression : Moderated Mediating Effect of Social Support

This study conducted a moderated mediation effect analysis to verify whether the effect of career identity by depression on the intention to dropout of college students differs depending on social support. For the study, a comprehensive survey was conducted targeting students at one university in Region M, and a final total of 425 questionnaires were used for analysis. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 25.0 and SPSS Macro, using hierarchical regression analysis, moderated mediation effects, and bootstrapping. The research results are as follows. First, career identity not only directly affects the dropout intention, but also partially mediates the dropout intention through depression, verifying the partial mediation effect. Second, the effect of depression on the dropout intention differed depending on the level of social support, confirming the moderating effect of social support. Third, the mediating effect of career identity on the dropout intention through depression was greater as the level of social support increased, verifying the moderated mediating effect of social support. Based on these findings, suggestions were made on the directions for support to prevent college students from dropping out.