The Role of Mental Toughness and Self-Confidence in Reducing Career Anxiety among Eleventh-Grade Vocational High School Students: A Systematic Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55927/ijsmr.v4i7.107Keywords:
Mental toughness, Self-confidence, Career anxiety, World of work, Vocational studentsAbstract
This article examines the role of mental toughness and self-confidence in reducing work-related anxiety among eleventh-grade vocational students. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted using 20 journal articles published between 2021 and 2025. The articles addressed career anxiety, mental toughness, resilience, self-confidence, career self-efficacy, employability, and school-to-work transition. The synthesis indicates that mental toughness helps students maintain focus, regulate emotional responses, interpret pressure as a manageable challenge, and recover from failure. Self-confidence strengthens students’ belief that they can learn occupational skills, communicate their strengths, make career decisions, and participate in recruitment processes. These psychological resources operate through more realistic threat appraisal, emotional regulation, career exploration, planning behavior, and willingness to seek support. Effective development strategies include structured career planning, gradual mastery experiences, recruitment simulations, internship reflection, social support, and systematic counseling. Vocational schools should integrate technical readiness with psychological readiness from the eleventh grade so that anxiety does not develop into career avoidance.
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