Psychological mechanisms underlying employability among Chinese university students: a sequential mediation model and gender invariance analysis

This research provides robust empirical support for a dynamic, integrated capital conversion model. Theoretically, it advances capital theory by demonstrating the sequential interplay between cognitive, personality, and social factors, underscoring Psychological Capital as the pivotal engine that facilitates this conversion process. Practically, the findings suggest that higher education interventions should prioritize psychological resilience and self-efficacy alongside traditional skill-building to design gender-sensitive programs that optimize resource transformation for sustainable employability.