TITLE:
From Individual Traits to Situation Generation: A Multi-Layer Embedded Mechanism of Career Adversity Quotient for Students in Technical and Vocational Schools from the Perspective of School-Enterprise Collaboration
AUTHORS:
Manni Feng, Li Li, Jiali Wang, Fengyu Xiang, Wentao Jin, Qingqing Lu
KEYWORDS:
Career Adversity Quotient, Individual Traits, Situation Generation, School-Enterprise Collaboration, Technical and Vocational Schools, Embedded Mechanism
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.13 No.3,
March
23,
2026
ABSTRACT: Against the background of the integration of industry and education, the career growth of students in technical and vocational schools is deeply embedded in the dual fields of campus and enterprise, and their career adversity experience presents distinct contextual and structural characteristics. Existing research on career adversity quotient (AQ) mostly adheres to the individual trait paradigm, defining career AQ as a stable internal psychological resource while ignoring its dynamic generation logic in specific career situations, resulting in dual limitations in theoretical interpretation and practical guidance. This paper reflects on the decontextualized research tendency, introduces the perspective of situation embeddedness, and realizes the theoretical shift of career AQ research from “individual traits” to “situation generation.” It clarifies that career AQ is a developmental ability dynamically generated in the interaction of multiple structures, distinct from related concepts like psychological capital. By analyzing the triple structural tensions of psychological resources, field transformation, and identity roles in the technical education field, this paper constructs a three-stage circular model of “embeddedness-activation-reinforcement.” It systematically explains the synergistic logic of the three mechanisms of psychological activation, relational embeddedness, and institutional embeddedness, and reveals the multi-layer generation path of career AQ under the framework of school-enterprise collaboration, so as to provide an integrated framework for the practice of resilience cultivation and the deepening of career AQ theory in technical and vocational schools.