This study will determine the effect of college students’ perceived career barriers on happiness using KEEP data. It will examine how college students’ perceived career barriers affect their happiness and compare differences in the causal relationship between colleges and universities.
Happiness, the final dependent variable, is a factor that changes. Therefore, it was included the unconditional model, a latent growth model that can predict changes over a three-year period. Additionally, self-concept, which is related to individual self-cognition, was input as an exogenous variable on SEM.
The analysis revealed that psychological and environmental barriers significantly influenced happiness. However, differences were found between colleges and universities, notably in how career barriers affect changes in students’ happiness. Nevertheless, colleges and universities show commonalities in how self-concept influences perceived career barriers. Our results can help identify factors influencing happiness and inform efforts to provide support for college students entering adulthood.