Calling and Well-Being Among Adults: Differential Relations by Employment Status

an article by Carrie L. Torrey and Ryan D. Duffy (Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA) published in Journal of Career Assessment Volume 20 Number 4 (November 2012)

Abstract

With a sample of 194 adults, approximately half of which were involuntarily unemployed, the present study explored:

1. how calling related to core self-evaluations and life satisfaction,
2. whether core self-evaluations mediated the relation of calling to life satisfaction, and
3. how these relations differed for employed/voluntarily unemployed and involuntarily unemployed adults.

Mediation analyses among the three variables were tested for each group.

For both groups, calling was a significant, moderate predictor of core self-evaluations.

Further, core self-evaluations was found to fully mediate in the link between calling and life satisfaction among the involuntarily unemployed group and partially mediate this relation among the employed/voluntarily unemployed group.

The results of the present study suggest that higher levels of calling (regardless of employment status) relates to life satisfaction via a more positive sense of self. For the employed/voluntarily unemployed group, there may be benefits of a calling beyond positive self-evaluations.

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