Search Results (333)

Soft skills are increasingly viewed as essential personal resources for sustainable employability, yet their combined role with Psychological Capital (PsyCap) and proactive career behaviors among university students remains insufficiently understood. Grounded in the Job Demands–Resources model, this study examines whether soft skills predict PsyCap, employability, job crafting (seeking challenges) and active job search behavior, and whether these relationships differ between STEM and non-STEM students. A sample of 501 Italian university students (mean age = 22.7) completed validated measures of soft skills, PsyCap (resilience and optimism), employability (employability, networking, social networks), seeking challenges and active job search. Structural equation modeling revealed that soft skills significantly predicted PsyCap (β = 0.57), employability (β = 0.45), seeking challenges (β = 0.61) and active job search (β = 0.25). Multi-group analyses showed configural invariance across STEM and non-STEM groups and generally comparable relationships, with slightly stronger effects of soft skills on PsyCap and employability for non-STEM students. These findings extend prior work by testing an integrated JD–R-informed employability model that links soft skills to both psychological resources and proactive career behaviors within the same SEM and across academic domains. Overall, findings highlight soft skills as foundational resources that enhance students’ psychological functioning and proactive career behaviors, ultimately supporting readiness for work and the development of adaptive, sustainable career paths. Full article

This study investigates the factors influencing Chinese K-12 teachers’ adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) for instructional purposes by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with pedagogical beliefs, perceived intelligence, perceived ethical risks, GenAI anxiety, and demographic moderators. Drawing on a theory-driven framework, survey data were collected from 218 in-service teachers across K-12 schools in China. The respondents were predominantly from urban schools and most had prior GenAI use experience. Eight latent constructs and fourteen hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis. Results show that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are the strongest predictors of teachers’ intention to adopt GenAI. Constructivist pedagogical beliefs positively predict both perceived usefulness and intention, whereas transmissive beliefs negatively predict intention. Perceived intelligence exerts strong positive effects on perceived usefulness and ease of use but has no direct effect on intention. Perceived ethical risks significantly heighten GenAI anxiety, yet neither directly reduces adoption intention. Gender, teaching stage, and educational background further moderate key relationships, revealing heterogeneous adoption mechanisms across teacher subgroups. The study extends TAM for the GenAI era and highlights the need for professional development and policy initiatives that simultaneously strengthen perceived usefulness and ease of use, engage with pedagogical beliefs, and address ethical and emotional concerns in context-sensitive ways. Full article

This study analyzes the socio-cultural and behavioral determinants of FinTech adoption and access to credit among Ecuadorian SMEs. A probabilistic sample of 600 firms, operating in the services, commerce, information and communication technologies (ICT), and industry sectors, was surveyed to ensure representation of the country’s productive structure. The model integrates financial literacy, institutional trust, and perceived accessibility as key independent variables, with FinTech adoption as a digital behavioral factor and access to credit and credit conditions as the primary dependent outcomes. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), complemented by multi-group invariance tests and cluster analysis, the study evaluates seven hypotheses linking cognitive, perceptual, and digital mechanisms to financing behavior and firm performance. Results show that financial literacy and institutional trust significantly improve access to formal credit, with perceived accessibility acting as a partial mediator. FinTech adoption enhances credit conditions but remains limited among micro and small firms. Based on these findings, the study recommends strengthening financial education programs, simplifying credit procedures to reduce perceived barriers, and developing trust-building regulatory frameworks for digital finance. The results highlight the importance of socio-cultural and behavioral factors in shaping SME financing decisions and contribute to the understanding of financial inclusion dynamics in emerging economies. Full article

Violence against women remains prevalent, yet many survivors do not engage with services even where health infrastructure exists. This study investigated the role of institution-facing resources, Institutional Trust (ITR) and Procedural Justice (PJ), and the role of interpersonal resources, Social Support Provided (SSP), in women’s formal care-seeking intentions, as mediated by Psychological Distress (PSS) and General Self-Efficacy (GSE). An online survey was administered to women in Greece (n = 392) and the United Kingdom (n = 328), yielding a sample of 718. To compare the structural paths in the model across the two countries, measurement invariance was first explored, while the model was estimated through multi-group structural equation modeling. Across the pooled sample, PJ and GSE predicted HSB firmly, while ITR had no direct link to the construct. SSP did not directly predict HSB, but was linked to GSE in all models. The results of the interaction and group-difference models showed PJ and SSP had a slight indirect effect through GSE, while distress-based pathways were weaker and context-dependent. Multi-group models revealed significant cross-national differences: the direct effect of ITR and PSS on GSE was stronger in the United Kingdom than in Greece. The direct effect of PJ/GSE and SSP/GSE also had a stronger impact in Greece than in the United Kingdom. Overall, the results indicate that the willingness of women to seek help is less driven by their trust in institutions and more driven by their expectations of fairness in provider interaction and their perceived personal capability, where social support plays a role as the antecedent increasing women’s Perceived Self-Efficacy. The implications include prioritizing procedurally just practices, designing interventions that enhance self-efficacy for system navigation, and mobilizing informal networks as partners in the help-seeking process. Full article

The development of generative artificial intelligence tools, including large language models, opens new opportunities for adult education while simultaneously posing the risk of deepening inequalities resulting from differences in digital competences and individual dispositions. The aim of this article is to examine how digital skills (DS) and personal innovativeness (PI) shape differentiated and advanced use of ChatGPT (UC) among adult learners in Poland, with particular attention to the moderating role of gender. The study was conducted using the CAWI method on a nationwide sample of 757 adult ChatGPT users engaged in upgrading their qualifications. Validated scales of DS, PI, and UC were applied, along with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) using the WLSMV estimator, as well as multigroup SEM for women and men. The results confirm that both digital skills (β ≈ 0.46) and personal innovativeness (β ≈ 0.37) significantly and positively predict advanced use of ChatGPT, jointly explaining approximately 41% of the variance in UC, with stronger effects observed among men than women. Attention is therefore drawn to the need to incorporate a gender perspective in further research on the use of GenAI in adult education The findings point to a stratification of GenAI use in adult education and underscore the need to incorporate critical digital competences and AI literacy into sustainable education policies in order to limit the reproduction of existing inequalities. Full article

Background: Chinese adolescents face a dual burden of malnutrition, yet the weight-status-specific mechanisms underlying physical activity (PA) participation remain underexplored. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 1573 adolescents (aged 9–15 years) in Shangrao City, China. Validated scales measured social-ecological factors (family/peer support, physical environment), psychological factors (stage of change, self-efficacy, decisional balance), and PA participation. Data preprocessing utilized full information maximum likelihood to handle missing values. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to validate the measurement model, followed by multi-group structural equation modeling to analyze pathway configurations across underweight (n = 187), normal-weight (n = 1070), and overweight/obese (n = 316) groups. Mediation effects were tested using bootstrapping with 5000 resamples. Results: Clear weight-specific patterns emerged. Normal-weight adolescents presented a fully functional comprehensive model where PA was predicted by the stage of change (β = 0.211, p < 0.001), friend support (β = 0.120, p < 0.001), self-efficacy (β = 0.092, p < 0.05), and perceived benefits (β = 0.095, p < 0.01). Underweight adolescents primarily relied on internal readiness driven by stage of change (β = 0.270, p < 0.001) and self-efficacy (β = 0.164, p < 0.05), with family support only indirectly influencing participation via psychological mediators. In contrast, overweight/obese adolescents showed a “socially dependent” pattern: friend support directly predicted PA levels (β = 0.136, p < 0.05), significantly enhanced self-efficacy (β = 0.370, p < 0.01), and effectively lowered perceived barriers (β = −0.165, p < 0.05). Additionally, the physical environment strongly impacted perceived benefits (β = 0.471, p < 0.01) but did not translate into action. Conclusions: These findings underscore the significant differences in PA determinants across the spectrum of malnutrition, necessitating targeted public health interventions to support the Healthy China 2030 initiative. Full article

Background: Rural healthcare providers encounter multifaceted barriers including geographic isolation, resource limitations, and provider shortages that impede optimal patient care delivery. The Barriers Experienced in Providing Healthcare Instrument (BTCPI) was designed to assess provider challenges; however, concerns regarding its psychometric properties necessitated comprehensive validation. The primary purpose of the study was to evaluate the structural validity of the instrument using confirmatory factor analysis with a sample of Idaho healthcare professionals. Because the model failed to meet criteria, the study identified a more parsimonious model that then underwent multi-group invariance testing. Methods: A survey consisting of a modified Barriers to Providing Optimal Healthcare instrument and a demographic questionnaire was distributed to Idaho healthcare providers across 22 clinical sites in the state. The structural validity of the modified 41-item, 9-factor instrument was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Multi-group invariance testing was also conducted to assess measurement equivalence across provider profession, practice setting (rural vs. urban), and years of experience. Results: A total of 373 healthcare providers completed the survey and were used for analysis. The proposed BTCPI model did not meet model fit criteria. An ESEM analysis was conducted and identified a 9-factor, 14-item model. However, due to fit concerns, an exploratory factor analysis was subsequently conducted and identified the 4-factor, 12-item (BPOC-12) that also met invariance criteria across groups. A group mean and variance differences were found between nurses and primary care providers as well as between rural and urban practitioners on several barrier factors. Conclusions: The BTCPI did not meet model fit criteria. Subsequent model refinement resulted in the BPOC-12, which had preliminary psychometric validity. Although the refined model offered a more condensed and preliminarily valid psychometric framework, future research should be done to assess this model. Future research should also collect responses from different healthcare professions to enhance its applicability. Full article

Background: The Republic of Korean humidifier disinfectant disaster, involving toxic chemical exposure, constitutes a major social disaster causing severe trauma. While physical and psychological difficulties are documented, this study investigated the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and survivors’ daily life adaptation across children, adolescents, and adults, examining PTSD’s mediating role. Methods: The sample included 834 participants (417 exposed survivors and 417 unaffected individuals), divided into three age groups. PTSD symptoms and life adaptation were measured via self-reports. Multigroup Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was utilized to test the indirect associations among exposure, PTSD symptoms, and life adaptation, and to examine age-group comparisons. Results: Survivors in all age groups reported higher PTSD symptoms and lower adaptive functioning compared to unaffected individuals, with the largest PTSD mean difference found in children and adults. Multigroup SEM confirmed that exposure positively impacted PTSD symptoms, and PTSD symptoms negatively impacted life adaptation across all ages. PTSD symptoms significantly mediated the exposure-life adaptation link in all groups. Critically, the direct effect of exposure on life adaptation was significant only in adults, indicating a full mediation via PTSD symptoms in children and adolescents. Conclusions: Exposure to toxic humidifier disinfectants is linked to life adaptation difficulties through elevated PTSD symptoms. These findings emphasize addressing trauma-related symptoms and suggest the utility of developmentally sensitive psychological interventions. Limitations include reliance on self- and parent-reported measures rather than clinical diagnoses, and the lack of control for external contextual factors (e.g., policy changes, media exposure). Full article

The proactive safety behavior of construction workers is crucial for accident prevention. This study examines the mechanism through which altruistic leadership influences such behavior, proposing a theoretical model grounded in social exchange theory, self-determination theory, and situational strength theory. The model positions psychological empowerment as a mediator and perceived organizational support as a moderator. Hypotheses were tested using survey data from 718 construction workers in China. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), complemented by a multi-group analysis based on the workers’ age and weekly working hours. The results show that altruistic leadership significantly enhances proactive safety behavior. Psychological empowerment partially mediates this relationship, while perceived organizational support positively moderates the link between psychological empowerment and proactive safety behavior. Furthermore, the positive effect of altruistic leadership was more substantial among older workers and those with longer weekly working hours. In contrast, the mediating role of psychological empowerment was more pronounced among younger workers. These findings reveal the dual influence of internal psychological mechanisms and external contextual factors in the relationship between altruistic leadership and proactive safety behavior. This study helps managers foster safety proactivity by promoting altruistic leadership and supportive organizational environments. Full article

Rapid urbanization and widening urban–rural disparities have contributed to decreasing youth engagement with rural development in China. As traditional outreach initiatives struggle to attract young people’s attention, immersive digital technologies have emerged as promising tools for strengthening connections to rural environments. This study explores how immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences shape university students’ behavioral intentions toward rural engagement. Using a cognitive–affective–behavioral (CAB) framework, an immersive VR experiment was conducted with 209 Chinese undergraduates using a panoramic rural video. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) validated a serial mediation model linking perceived sensory dimensions, restorative experiences (RE), and place identity (PI) to rural visit intention (RVI) and environmentally responsible behavioral intention (ERBI). The results show that VR significantly enhances RE and PI, with PI serving as the stronger mediator, particularly for students with limited rural exposure. Multigroup analysis further revealed demographic heterogeneity: women demonstrated stronger RE–PI pathways, while urban and short-term rural residents showed greater sensitivity to VR-induced presence. Overall, the findings indicate that immersive VR can reduce urban–rural psychological distance and strengthen youth engagement. The study demonstrates how digital immersive tools may support targeted education and policy interventions aimed at promoting sustainable rural development. Full article

Understanding destination image perceptions is critical for tourism destinations seeking to maintain competitive advantage and foster visitor loyalty. While the traditional literature suggests that first-time and repeat visitors differ significantly in their cognitive and affective destination image perceptions due to experiential differences, emerging evidence from destinations with established branding challenges these conventional assumptions. Thailand, as a globally prominent destination with sustained branding initiatives since 1998, provides an ideal context for examining whether visitor experience moderates destination image formation and loyalty outcomes. This study investigates differences in cognitive and affective destination image perceptions and destination loyalty between first-time and repeat international travellers to Thailand, applying the cognitive–affective–behavioural (CAB) model to examine how these constructs influence revisit and recommendation intentions across visitor segments. Data were collected from 392 international tourists visiting three major southern coastal destinations in Thailand (Phuket, Krabi, and Phang-Nga) through face-to-face surveys using purposive sampling. The sample comprised 185 first-time travellers and 207 repeat visitors. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with multigroup analysis was employed to examine structural relationships and test for significant differences between visitor cohorts using parametric, Welch–Satterthwaite, and permutations tests. Contrary to theoretical expectations, multigroup analysis revealed no statistically significant differences between first-time and repeat travellers across all examined pathways (all permutation p-values > 0.05). Both groups demonstrated equivalent perceptions regarding how cognitive image influences affective image, and how these dimensions affect revisit and recommendation intentions. Affective image emerged as the dominant predictor of destination loyalty for both segments, while cognitive image primarily served as an enabler of emotional responses. These findings challenge traditional assumptions about experiential differences between visitor types suggesting that mature destinations with consistent long-term branding may achieve perceptual uniformity that transcends direct experience. Destination marketing organizations should implement unified rather than segmented strategies, prioritizing emotional engagement mechanisms over rational attribute promotion to cultivate destination loyalty across all visitor segments. However, these findings are specific to coastal leisure destination and may not fully generalize to other destination types. Full article

Young people in developing countries play a pivotal role in advancing sustainable practices; however, little is known about whether the psychological determinants behind their pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) differ across developmental stages This study integrates the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) with environmental information exposure to explain young people’s PEBs and to examine their developmental heterogeneity, an aspect often overlooked in prior research. Using survey data from young people in Hue City, Vietnam (n = 995), we applied multigroup structural equation modeling to compare high school students, university students, and young workers. The integrated model explains 43.1% of the variance in PEBs. Intention is positively predicted by self-efficacy, subjective norm, attitude, and perceived vulnerability, and negatively predicted by reward and cost orientation. PEBs are directly predicted by intention, self-efficacy, and environmental information exposure. Subgroup contrasts reveal that response cost is negligible for high school students but a strong deterrent for older groups; self-efficacy directly predicts behavior only among university students and young workers; and environmental information exposure directly predicts behavior only among high school students. The findings underscore the importance of recognizing developmental heterogeneity among young people and suggest tailoring interventions to developmental stages, particularly in climate-vulnerable developing and emerging Asian contexts. Full article

Background/Objectives: Ethical leadership (EL) propels and enhances employee performance (EP), especially in healthcare, where ethics are paramount. However, existing research lacks a focus on how EL functions within Saudi Arabia (SA)’s public healthcare context. Primarily, this research investigates how EL directly affects EP. The research also investigates how organizational support (OS) influences EP and moderates the EL-to-EP relationship. Methods: This cross-sectional study consisted of 312 responses from doctors, nurses, and other administrators within Saudi public healthcare units. To analyze the collected data statistically, structural equation modeling (SEM) was opted for with the help of Smart-PLS 4. It helped to assess the direct effects of EL and OS on EP and further examine OS’s moderating role. A multigroup analysis (MGA) was also conducted in comparative form. It examined subgroup variations across gender, age, marital status, experience, and departmental affiliation. Results: The findings confirmed a positive impact of EL on EP. Moreover, a positive effect of OS on EP was also confirmed. Similarly, OS strengthened the positive effect of EL on EP. The MGA revealed variations across employee groups. It offered practical insights into how EL and OS function in diverse organizational contexts. These differences across groups reflect cultural and structural features of Saudi public healthcare. Conclusions: The extended research contributes to the literature on ethical leadership (EL) theory by applying contextual and demographic contingencies within the Saudi public healthcare sector. It also introduces OS as a significant moderator and provides actionable implications for improving performance through context-sensitive leadership and support strategies. Full article

This study investigated how consumers’ food consumption needs and perceptions influence their attitudes and behavioral intentions toward food truck dining. Drawing on the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) framework, perceived risks and benefits were conceptualized as external stimuli; food consumption needs (necessity vs. enjoyment) and attitudes represented the organism; and behavioral intentions denoted the response. Data were collected via Amazon Mechanical Turk and analyzed using structural equation modeling and multigroup comparisons based on prior food truck experience. Perceived benefits and food enjoyment positively influenced attitudes, whereas perceived risks negatively influenced attitudes. Attitude significantly predicted future behavioral intentions, whereas food as a necessity did not. The multigroup analysis revealed that prior experience moderated these relationships; perceived benefits and risks primarily guided inexperienced consumers, whereas experienced consumers formed attitudes mainly through hedonic needs. These findings contribute to the literature by integrating the SOR and value–attitude–behavior hierarchies to explain cognitive and motivational mechanisms underlying food truck patronage. They also highlight the moderating role of prior experience, which reshapes the strength of the model’s key paths. The study offers practical implications for food truck operators seeking to balance risk mitigation with perceived benefits to encourage repeat patronage. Full article

Rural gentrification is transforming China’s countryside, yet the ways gentrified landscapes shape community co-build willingness across social groups remain unclear. Guided by the Hierarchy Effects Model (HEM) and Martin Phillips’ four-dimensional view of rural landscapes (material, symbolic, social, and living), this study develops a “landscape–emotion–intention” framework linking spatial–environmental continuity, cultural landscape transition, social interaction embeddedness, and new rural livability to community identity, sense of belonging, and co-build willingness. Based on 50 in-depth interviews in She Village, Nanjing, latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) is used to extract key themes, which are combined with the four-dimensional framework to construct a 25-item questionnaire; 376 valid responses from immigrants and local villagers are then examined through multi-group structural equation modeling and artificial neural networks for robustness and importance analysis. Results indicate that cultural landscape transition and new rural livability are the main drivers of identity and belonging among immigrants, whereas cultural landscape transition, spatial–environmental continuity, and social interaction embeddedness are more critical for local villagers; in both groups, sense of belonging is the strongest predictor of co-build willingness. The study embeds HEM within gentrified rural settings, operationalizes stakeholder perceptions via an LDA–SEM–ANN pipeline, and proposes differentiated strategies for inclusive rural community building and sustainable governance. Full article