The moderating role of internship experience in the relationship between proactive career engagement and job-finding anxiety among sports management students
Omur Fatih Karakullukcu1 ,
Seda Nur Turhal2 ,
Erdal Dursun3 ,
Mehmet Tuncer4 ,
Dilek Topal5
1 Ministry of National Education of the Republic of Türkiye, Türkiye
2 Faculty of Sports Sciences, Department of Sports Management, Eurasia University, Türkiye
3 International Science and Technology University , Varşova, Poland
4 Ministry of National Education, Sivas, Türkiye
5 Department of Coaching Education, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Istanbul Aydın University, Türkiye
Abstract
Job-finding anxiety experienced by university students during the transition to working life should be considered together with proactive career behaviors and internship experience. This study aimed to examine the relationship between proactive career engagement and job-finding anxiety among sports management students and to determine the moderating role of internship experience in this relationship. A total of 395 sports management students from four universities participated in this cross-sectional and correlational study. Data were collected using the Proactive Career Engagement Behaviors Scale, the Job-Finding Anxiety Scale for Sports Sciences Students, and a personal information form. Correlation analysis, independent-samples t test, Welch’s t test, one-way analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression-based moderation analysis were used. Proactive career engagement was negatively and significantly associated with job-finding anxiety (r=-0.376, p<0.001). Students with internship experience had higher proactive career engagement and lower job-finding anxiety. Moderation analysis showed that internship experience significantly strengthened the negative relationship between the two variables (B=-0.246, p=0.006). In conclusion, internship experience may be considered a significant moderating factor that alters the strength of the relationship between proactive career engagement and job-finding anxiety among sports management students.
Keywords
Job-finding anxiety,proactive career engagement,sports management,internship experience,university students
How to Cite
Karakullukcu, O. F., Turhal, S. N., Dursun, E., Tuncer, M., & Topal, D. (2026). The moderating role of internship experience in the relationship between proactive career engagement and job-finding anxiety among sports management students. International Journal of Eurasia Social Sciences, 17(65), 1360–1370. https://doi.org/10.70736/ijoess.2550
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Seda Nur Turhal2