Background: Career-related social support (CRSS) significantly influences job search behavior (JSB). However, the mechanisms and boundary conditions through which CRSS impacts JSB, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, remain unclear. This study examines the mechanisms and boundary conditions through which CRSS influences the JSB among final-year college students during the COVID-19 pandemic, guided by social cognitive career theory (SCCT). Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in 2021 among 596 final-year college students from two public universities in China, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey collected data on CRSS, CDMS, employment pressure, and JSB. Results: The findings revealed that career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMS) partially mediates the relationship between CRSS and JSB. Moreover, employment pressure moderates both the direct and mediated pathways; when employment pressure is low, CRSS does not significantly enhance JSB, whereas under a high employment pressure, JSB significantly increases, with higher CRSS. In the mediated pathway, higher CDMS strongly predicts JSB under low employment pressure, but its influence diminishes as the employment pressure rises. Conclusions: These findings underscore the critical roles of CDMS and employment pressure in shaping JSB, offering valuable insights for career support initiatives to facilitate the transition of graduates into the workforce during challenging periods.

With the rapid development in new media and social platforms on the internet, some social hotspots or sensitive events can easily ferment and spread in the online space, attracting the attention or concentrated discussion of young students. Network cluster behavior is a collective behavior in which a large number of netizens collectively express and gather opinions around social hot issues of common concern, creating online public opinion. The study explored the influence of group psychology on the process of college students participating in online cluster behavior. A survey was conducted involving 2137 college students from over 10 universities in Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province, and other regions. The data were analyzed using correlation analysis and moderated mediation model testing. This study found that group psychological factors, such as emotional infection, depersonalization, the spiral of silence, relative deprivation, group polarization, and action mobilization, positively predicted network cluster behavior. The action mobilization of opinion leaders mediated the relationship between emotional infection and network cluster behavior. Group polarization mediated the relationship between the spiral of silence and network cluster behavior. Additionally, group efficacy moderated the latter part of the mediation process between group polarization and network cluster behavior.

A survey was conducted involving 2,137 university students from over 10 universities in Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province, and other regions. The data were analyzed using correlation analysis and moderated mediation model testing. This study found that group psychological factors, such as emotional infection, depersonalization, the spiral of silence, relative deprivation, group polarization, and action mobilization, positively predicted network cluster behavior. The action mobilization of opinion leaders mediated the relationship between emotional infection and network cluster behavior. Group polarization mediated the relationship between the spiral of silence and network cluster behavior. Additionally, group efficacy moderated the latter part of the mediation process between group polarization and network cluster behavior.