How perceived social support influences Chinese students’ intention to change majors: a chain mediation model with moderation

Abstract

Introduction: Reducing students’ non-interest-oriented and passive intention to change majors is crucial to reducing the risk of changing majors and improving the quality of talent training. Existing research often lacks a coherent framework, which makes the mechanisms by which students’ perceived external environmental factors influence major mobility behaviours unclear. Therefore, this study used Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) to explore the complex relationship between students’ social support and their intention to change their major cognition. Methods: The paper surveyed students at four universities in Shandong Province, China, in 2024 regarding perceived social support, intention to change majors, mental flow experience, self-efficacy, and major cognition. Results: (1) In terms of the total effect, students’ perceived social support was significantly negatively correlated with their intention to change majors. (2) In the mediation effect analysis, students’ experience of mental flow in major learning and self-efficacy played an important chain mediation role between perceived social support and the intention to change majors. This explains the internal influence mechanism of the total effect. (3) In the analysis of direct effects, students’ perceived social support was significantly and positively correlated with their intention to change majors. This is contrary to the relatively high proportion of the chain mediation effect, but reflects the current situation of some students’ choice of majors. (4) In the analysis of moderation effects, the relationship between students’ perceived social support and their intention to change majors was positively moderated by major cognition. Discussion: Students’ intention to change majors decreases when they translate perceived social support into a mental flow experience of major learning and gain self-efficacy for major learning. When the two directly interact, a high level of perceived social support enhances students’ intention to change majors. Students’ major cognition moderates the relationship between perceived social support and mental flow. The main social support providers for students (government, school, family members) should consider focusing on whether support behaviours are translated into internal motivation for students’ major learning, so as to ensure that students make rational major changes.