Stress-Coping Strategies, Career Self-Efficacy, and Depression Among Young Workers in Korea

Background: High rates of depression among young workers in South Korea highlight the urgent need to investigate risk and protective factors. Recent economic downturn since COVID-19 pandemic has caused more psychological distress among young workers. They suffer from intensive workloads and fear of being laid off. However, the impact of a stressful work environment can vary depending on how individuals evaluate and cope with the stress. Especially in the face of labor market instability and uncertainty, taking actions that can reduce the risk and strength their capability is more beneficial. For example, young workers who use problem-solving strategies may have lower levels of depression as they believe that they have control over their career decision and accomplish the tasks required to achieve those decisions. This study examined the association between stress-coping strategies and depression and the mediating role of career self-efficacy.

Methods: Data were collected from 426 young adults ages 19 to 34 in South Korea between July and August in 2022 via online. For this study, only 337 adults with jobs were analyzed. Depression was measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire–9, and stress-coping strategies were measured with 33 items of the Coping Strategy Indicator, which includes problem-solving, social support-seeking, and avoidant strategies as sub-scales. Career self-efficacy was measured with 11 items of the Work Volition Scale (Kim, 2020). The mediation effect of career self-efficacy on the relationship between stress-coping strategies and depression was analyzed with SPSS PROCESS Macro (Preacher & Hayes, 2004)’s two-step approach along with bootstrapping. Gender, age, educational level, household income, employment type, marital status, and the number of children were controlled in the analysis.

Results: Results showed that the relationship between stress-coping strategies and depression was influenced by career self-efficacy. Problem-solving coping strategies (β = -.230, p < .001) and social support-seeking coping strategies (β = -.472, p < .001) were found to significantly reduce levels of depression. The impact of problem-solving and social support-seeking coping strategies on depression was mediated by career self-efficacy (β = -.134, p < .05), indicating that these coping strategies may strengthen one's career self-efficacy, resulting in lower levels of depression. Conversely, avoidant coping strategies were found to significantly lower one's career self-efficacy (β = -.307, p < .001) and lead to significantly higher levels of depression.

Implications: Findings of this study emphasized that problem-solving and social support-seeking strategies can protect young workers who are suffering from labor market uncertainty and stress. Problem-solving and social support-seeking strategies can strengthen one’s internal and external resources to respond to labor market changes and succeed in workplace, which altogether can increase their confidence in themselves that they can survive such hardship and become successful. Conversely, avoidant strategies increased their level of depression by lowering their career self-efficacy. It is important to encourage young workers to use active coping skills, such as developing a plan to directly solve the problem or asking others for advice. In addition, it is critical to establish countermeasures that increase their self-efficacy in career decisions to lower their depression.