The Moderated Mediating Effects of Unconditional Self-acceptance and Parental Autonomy Support in the Relationship between College Students’ Emotional Intelligence and Career Indecision

The purpose of this study was to examine the moderated mediating effects of unconditional self-acceptance and parental autonomy support on the relationship between college students’ emotional intelligence and career indecision. To this end, data from 239 college students at four-year universities in the Seoul metropolitan area were collected and analyzed. Data analysis utilized Hayes’ (2024) PROCESS macro (Model=14). The research findings are as follows. First, unconditional self-acceptance showed a partial mediating effect in the relationship between college students’ emotional intelligence and career indecision. Second, parental autonomy support showed a moderating effect in the relationship between unconditional self-acceptance and career indecision. These findings suggest that enhancing unconditional self-acceptance among university students positively influences career decision-making. Simultaneously, they indicate that it is important for parents of universityaged children to adopt a parenting attitude that supports autonomy in their children’s career decision-making process.