Direct, Indirect and Conditional Indirect Effects of Communication and Career Anxiety on Perceived Stress during Interviews in University Students – A PLS SEM Model

Abstract

By exploring the connections between communication and career anxiety and perceived stress, the current study contributes to a more nuanced appreciation of the university students’ emotional and psychological frame of mind during interviews. The study evaluates the direct, indirect and conditional indirect effect of CA on perceived stress PS during interviews. The study also presents a complex research model, based on Preacher, Rucker, and Hayes (2007) model where the independent variable CA has a moderating effect on FCA, which is the mediator. The model is validated using empirical data, sample size 177 with 124 males (70.1%), and 53 (29.9%) females, with PLS-SEM using Smart PLS 3 (3.2.9). To test the hypotheses formulated, two tests were conducted using the same sample; the first one verified the direct and mediating hypotheses, the next verified the moderated mediation hypothesis. The results indicate CA affects PS. Secondly, FCA mediates the effect of CA on PS. Moreover, the study confirms the effect of moderation as CA moderates the effect of FCA on PS, such that the relationship between FCA and PS is weaker when CA is small compared to when it’s high, however at very higher level the effect is seen to dampen and weaker. The implications are discussed.