For most people in modern industrialized countries, profound life changes occur during the late teens through the twenties. During this period, individuals obtain the education and training that will provide the foundation for their incomes and careers for the remainder of their lives. According to Erikson’s (1968) identity theory, for many people, the late teens through the mid-twenties is when various possibilities in love, work, and worldviews are explored. Arnett (2000) refers to this period as emerging adulthood in which individuals explore the world and make life choices that have enduring ramifications.

According to Arnett (2000), emerging adulthood is a developmental stage between adolescence and adulthood that is full of opportunity and possibility. Individuals explore relationships, careers, and their values until they find their own identity. Gaining financial independence is a signal that one has reached adulthood. In the process of self-exploration, individuals identify a particular field of work or career and devote themselves to it, gradually moving toward becoming independent adults. Career development and identity exploration are important developmental issues for individuals in the emerging adulthood stage.

Self-efficacy in career decision-making refers the extent to which an individual believes that he or she can successfully complete the tasks required for making significant career decisions. In a study on the theory of career development, Lent et al. (1994) developed the social cognitive career theory, which describes that self-efficacy in career decision-making plays an important role in individual career development and self-exploration. Several studies have explored the relationship between one’s calling and career development. A correlation between self-efficacy in career decision-making and one’s calling has been observed. The correlation coefficient mainly ranges between .21 and .41 (Dik et al., 2008; Domene, 2012; Hirschi & Herrmann, 2013). Self-efficacy in career decision-making influences one’s calling. Additionally, studies have adopted one’s calling as an independent variable when examining its effects on individual career development; one’s calling, career decidedness, and career self-efficacy beliefs are positively correlated (Dobrow & Tosti-Kharas, 2011; Duffy, Dik, et al., 2011; Duffy & Sedlacek, 2007; Hirschi, 2011a). Hall and Chandler (2005) believe that both one’s calling and self-confidence influence an individual’s sense of self-identity and their likelihood to succeed, establishing a positive cycle for career development. For this reason, research should not focus on the influence of one’s calling on their self-efficacy in career decision-making; on the contrary, the effects of self-efficacy in career decision-making on an one’s calling should be examined. Studies on identity exploration and career development have also found that individuals with a clear self-identity were more engaged with work than were those without a clear self-identity (Luyckx et al., 2010). Furthermore, individuals tend to adopt coping strategies to manage stressful situations (Jex et al., 2001). Among various coping strategies, proactive coping is considered to be positive (Schwarzer & Knoll, 2003). Proactive coping is positively related to engagement and negatively related to burnout (Ângelo & Chambel, 2014).

Although an individual’s calling can influence their career development and help them make career decisions, possessing a greater sense of self-efficacy in career decision-making can lead to the adoption of more effective coping strategies (Jex et al., 2001). Few studies have explored career development or the roles of one’s identity exploration style (i.e., exploration in breadth, exploration in depth, and ruminative exploration) and coping strategies on one’s calling during emerging adulthood. Arnett (2000) believed that career development is an important issue for individuals moving toward emerging adulthood. One’s calling during emerging adulthood is crucial, because it affects an individual’s performance after entering the workplace (Shackelford, 2018). Accordingly, this study explored the associations of self-efficacy in career decision-making, proactive coping, identity exploration styles, and one’s calling with work experience during emerging adulthood and examined the role of identity exploration styles in the relationship between proactive coping and one’s calling. This study also proposed a moderated mediation model to gain insights into the relationships between self-efficacy in career decision-making, proactive coping, identity exploration, and career calling in emerging adulthood. This study addressed the following three hypotheses: (1) self-efficacy in career decision-making and proactive coping can predict one’s calling, (2) proactive coping mediates the effects of self-efficacy in career decision-making on one’s calling, and (3) identity exploration moderates the effects of proactive coping on one’s calling.

To examine these hypotheses, this study used an online questionnaire to obtain information from 437 full-time and part-time workers (146 men and 291 women). Participants were aged 18–30 years. Measurement tools included the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Short Form questionnaire, the Proactive Coping Inventory, the Identity Development Scale, and the Career Calling Scale. Data analysis adopted the Hayes Process model 14 to examine the moderated mediation model proposed in this study. The Pearson product–moment correlation coefficient was calculated to examine the relationships among the research variables. Participant demographics (i.e., age, gender, job tenure, marriage status, employment status, and subjective life stage) were controlled for during data analysis.

This study has three main findings: (1) self-efficacy in career decision-making and proactive coping were significant predictors of one’s calling, (2) proactive coping plays a partial mediating role in the effects of self-efficacy in career decision-making on one’s calling, and (3) ruminative exploration plays a moderating role in the effects of proactive coping on one’s calling. First, self-efficacy in career decision-making and proactive coping had a positive influence on the development of one’s calling during emerging adulthood. Second, self-efficacy in career decision-making increased the development of one’s calling and had a positive indirect effect on one’s calling through proactive coping. Last, individuals with a higher inclination toward ruminative exploration derived greater benefits for proactive coping and their calling. In summary, self-efficacy in career decision-making, proactive coping, and identity exploration play important roles in the development of one’s calling in emerging adulthood.

For the practical implementation of this research, career practitioners, such as school mentors, counselors, and clinical psychologists, should highlight the importance of proactive coping and identity exploration during emerging adulthood. These two concepts can help individuals develop their calling. This study has several limitations. First, the revised Career Decision Self-Efficacy Short Form questionnaire should be cross-validated. Future research involving participants in the stage of emerging adulthood should incorporate the features of emerging adulthood into the questionnaire to make it more suitable. Second, this cross-sectional study examined relationships among self-efficacy in career decision-making, proactive coping, identity exploration, and one’s calling. Longitudinal studies are warranted to determine whether self-efficacy in career decision-making, proactive coping, identity exploration, and one’s calling change over time. Finally, several confounding variables related to career development and adaptation may affect the study results. However, this study only chose one’s calling as the criteria for career development. Future studies should include more variables to gain deeper insights into career development during emerging adulthood.