Examining the Relationship between Career Calling and Career Distress: The Mediating Role of Career Goal Discrepancy

Career development processes are a major developmental and economic concern, as problems in this domain are associated with distress and poor career outcomes among young adults. While career calling is recognized as a psychological resource linked to low career distress, the mechanisms that explain this association are not well understood. This study, based on Meaning Making Theory and Control Theory, investigates whether career goal discrepancy levels mediate the relationship between career calling and career distress among 437 future workforces in the emerging adulthood phase. Data were examined utilizing structural equation modeling in SPSS AMOS. The findings revealed that career calling is related to career distress indirectly via career goal discrepancy, indicating that perceptions of discrepancy serve as an important explanatory mechanism. These findings combine calling and discrepancy perspectives, emphasizing the significance of interventions aimed at increasing goal clarity in decision-making processes in the career domain.