Xu Ke, Zhang Dandan, Wang Minghui
School of Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China.
School of Psychology, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2025 Apr 10;15(4):506. doi: 10.3390/bs15040506.
In recent years, some college graduates in China have chosen to postpone or avoid employment due to the disparity between their career expectations and the reality of the job market, leading to the emergence of a group of graduates not in employment, education, or training (NEETs). As the number of individuals in this group continues to grow, exploring effective strategies to mitigate such behavior has become increasingly important. Based on self-determination theory, this study conducted an empirical analysis using a multi-wave questionnaire survey with a sample of 226 graduate NEETs in Shanghai, China. The findings indicate that (1) career expectations do not directly reduce social withdrawal behavior; (2) the mere accumulation of human capital is insufficient to decrease social withdrawal-only when knowledge and skills are further transformed into problem-solving ability does an individual's tendency toward social withdrawal significantly decline; and (3) human capital and problem-solving ability serve as a sequential mediating mechanism between career expectations and social withdrawal behavior. This study expands the research on the formation mechanisms of social withdrawal behavior and elucidates the proactive adaptation pathways in individuals' career adjustment processes. The findings provide theoretical insights for higher education institutions to shift from traditional knowledge transmission models toward a greater emphasis on problem-solving ability development.
近年来，由于职业期望与就业市场现实之间的差距，中国一些大学毕业生选择推迟就业或逃避就业，导致出现了一批既未就业、也未升学或参加培训的毕业生（即啃老族）。随着这一群体人数不断增加，探索有效策略来缓解这种行为变得越发重要。基于自我决定理论，本研究采用多轮问卷调查进行实证分析，样本为中国上海的226名啃老族毕业生。研究结果表明：（1）职业期望并不会直接减少社交退缩行为；（2）单纯积累人力资本不足以减少社交退缩——只有当知识和技能进一步转化为解决问题的能力时，个体的社交退缩倾向才会显著下降；（3）人力资本和解决问题的能力在职业期望和社交退缩行为之间起顺序中介机制的作用。本研究拓展了对社交退缩行为形成机制的研究，并阐明了个体职业调整过程中的积极适应途径。研究结果为高等教育机构从传统知识传授模式转向更注重培养解决问题的能力提供了理论见解。
