Volunteer service duration and career adaptability among Chinese university students: a self-determination theory...

Career adaptability has emerged as a crucial resource for university students navigating an increasingly volatile youth employment market. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this study examined the associations among volunteer service duration, basic psychological needs satisfaction, and career adaptability among Chinese university students, as well as the moderating role of initial volunteering motivation.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 581 Chinese university students via an online platform. Participants reported their volunteer service duration and completed the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale-Short Form, the Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale, and the Simplified Self-Regulation Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS, the PROCESS macro, and Mplus.

The mediation analysis showed that basic psychological needs satisfaction fully mediated the association between volunteer service duration and career adaptability, such that longer service duration was associated with greater need satisfaction, which, in turn, was associated with greater career adaptability. The subsequent moderated mediation analysis further qualified this pattern. Initial controlled motivation significantly moderated the association between volunteer service duration and basic psychological needs satisfaction, with this association shifting from significantly negative at low controlled motivation to nonsignificant near zero at the mean level and positive but nonsignificant at high controlled motivation. The index of moderated mediation for controlled motivation was significant, whereas the moderating role of autonomous motivation was not.

These findings suggest that the association between accumulated volunteering experience and career adaptability may be better understood through the psychological resources associated with volunteering experiences rather than service duration alone, while also indicating that this indirect association may vary according to students' initial motivational conditions. Universities may therefore benefit from providing sustained volunteering opportunities that support students' autonomy, competence, and relatedness rather than focusing solely on increasing required service hours.