The impact of adverse childhood experiences on employment anxiety in university students: the chain mediating roles of self-compassion and fear of failure

Abstract Background Against the backdrop of continuously intensifying employment pressure, employment anxiety has become a significant psychological issue that university students commonly face. Although studies have often explained this from the perspective of social support or personality traits, the association between adverse childhood experiences and employment anxiety through psychological pathways remains insufficiently explored. Methods This study investigated the relationships between adverse childhood experiences, self-compassion, fear of failure, and employment anxiety among 946 Chinese university students using self-report questionnaires and chain mediation analysis. Results The results indicated that adverse childhood experiences were not only significantly correlated with higher levels of employment anxiety but also indirectly associated with employment anxiety by reducing self-compassion and increasing fear of failure. Specifically, self-compassion and fear of failure played significant chain mediating roles in this relationship. These findings are consistent with a model in which adverse childhood experiences are associated with employment anxiety, suggesting that employment anxiety is not a simple continuation of early trauma but a complex set of psychological pathways involving impaired self-system resources and heightened vigilance towards failure signals. Conclusions This discovery not only expands the theoretical model of employment anxiety but also provides insights for intervention. Enhancing self-compassion and reconstructing cognition about failure are important directions for alleviating employment anxiety among university students.