Career Identity and Life Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Tolerance for Uncertainty and Positive/Negative Affect

Identity formation is considered as a key factor in the conceptualization of life satisfaction (LS). Recent volatility in labor markets has negatively influenced college students’ LS and attending to the relationship between their career identity (CI) and LS has become important for career researchers and counselors. The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effects of tolerance for uncertainty (TU) and emotions (positive affect [PA] and negative affect [NA]) in the relationship between CI development and LS. The hypotheses were tested among 199 college students in a prestigious South Korean university. The results indicate that TU and emotions mediate the effects of CI on LS. Based on these findings, career counselors are encouraged to help college students understand the synergy of TU and development of CI, which may increase their sense of LS.