The Impact of Social Isolation on Career Development Among Multicultural Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Emotional Problems and the Moderated Mediation of Social Support

Background and Purpose: As South Korea transitions into a multi-ethnic society, adolescents from multicultural backgrounds face distinct developmental challenges, particularly in the domain of career development. Despite the growing number of multicultural students, research addressing their unique experiences in career development remains limited. Existing career policies predominantly cater to non-multicultural students, often overlooking the emotional and social dynamics that uniquely affect multicultural adolescents. Multicultural adolescents may face heightened vulnerability to social isolation due to experiences of cultural marginalization, language barriers, and discrimination. Such isolation can, in turn, contribute to emotional difficulties that hinder long-term planning and engagement in career-related activities. Previous studies indicate that emotional difficulties and social support are closely linked to career development. Thus, this study aims to explore the impact of social isolation on career development among multicultural adolescents, focusing on the mediating role of emotional problems and the moderated mediating effect of social support.

Methods: Data were drawn from the fifth wave (2023) of the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS) Phase 2, conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute. After excluding incomplete responses, the final sample consisted of 1,842 eighth-grade students from multicultural families. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 and Hayes’ PROCESS Macro 4.2. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, and Scheffé post-hoc tests were employed to examine general characteristics and group differences. Pearson correlation analyses were conducted to assess associations among the key variables, and mediation and moderated mediation effects were tested using PROCESS Models 4 and 7 with bootstrapping to assess the significance of indirect effects.

Results: Social isolation had a significant positive effect on emotional problems (B = .951, p < .001). Emotional problems, in turn, had a significant negative effect on career development (B = −.417, p < .001). The direct effect of social isolation on career development was also significant (B = −.215, p < .01), and the indirect effect through emotional problems was significant as well (B = −.397), indicating a partial mediation. The index of moderated mediation for social support was B = −.011, which was statistically significant, as the 95% confidence interval did not include zero. Johnson-Neyman analysis revealed that the effect of social isolation on emotional problems was statistically significant when the value of social support exceeded −22.932. This suggests that social isolation is strongly associated with emotional distress, regardless of the level of social support.

Conclusions and Implications: This study demonstrates that social isolation negatively affects the career development of multicultural adolescents, both directly and indirectly through emotional problems, and that social support moderates this pathway. These findings underscore the importance of social relationships and emotional well-being in understanding the career development of multicultural adolescents. Early identification and intervention targeting social isolation and emotional difficulties are essential in career counseling and educational settings. Overall, this study provides a practical and policy-oriented foundation for promoting equal career opportunities for multicultural adolescents, supporting their growth into healthy and productive members of society.