ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
This article is part of the Research TopicMental Health Challenges in Vulnerable Groups: Psychological Well-Being, Learning, and Support in Disadvantaged ContextsView all 8 articles
Development and Validation of the Perceived University Employment Support Scale among Undergraduate Students
Provisionally accepted
- 1Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
- 2Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior (CCNU), WUHAN, China
- 3Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, WUHAN, China
- 4Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, China
- 5Wuhan Business University, Wuhan, China
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This study aims to develop and validate the Perceived University Employment Support Scale (PUESS), grounded in social support theory, to systematically evaluate the role of higher education institutions in facilitating graduates’ successful transition into the labor market. Across two studies, we developed and validated a 20-item scale assessing graduates’ perceptions of university-based employment support. In all studies, the scale consistently demonstrated strong reliability and validity. Specifically, Study 1 involved the preliminary selection of items and initial validation, while Study 2 confirmed the scale’s robust construct validity, along with comparable criterion-related validity to the University Student Social Support Scale. Additionally, the PUESS exhibited measurement invariance across gender, educational levels, and institutional types. The findings provide empirical evidence for a deeper understanding of how university-based employment support influences graduates’ career development, offering a valuable tool and practical recommendations for education administrators and policymakers seeking to optimize support mechanisms.
Keywords: University-Based Employment Support, University graduates, social support theory, scale development, reliability and validity, Career development
Received: 01 Jul 2025; Accepted: 23 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ye, Huang, Meng, Long, Zhang and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ling Liu, 20150584@wbu.edu.cn
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