The longitudinal mediating role of career compromise between psychological contract breach and turnover intention among newly recruited master of nursing graduates: a cross-lagged panel analysis
- 1Chronic Disease Management Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
- 2Department of Nursing, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
Abstract
Objective: To examine trajectories and temporal associations among psychological contract breach, career compromise and turnover intention in newly recruited Master of Nursing graduates, and to clarify the mediating role of career compromise.
Methods: In this three-wave panel study, 295 Master of Nursing graduates newly recruited to 14 Chinese tertiary hospitals were assessed within the first month of employment (T1) and at 6 (T2) and 12 (T3) months. A cross-lagged panel model was fitted under maximum likelihood, with mediation tested by bootstrap (5,000 iterations).
Results: All three variables increased significantly over 12 m (breach, 14.45 ± 2.26 to 15.90 ± 2.35; career compromise, 30.36 ± 5.74 to 34.75 ± 5.97; turnover intention, 15.24 ± 2.14 to 16.91 ± 2.36; all P < 0.001). The final model fitted well (χ2/df = 2.43, CFI = 0.985, TLI = 0.965, RMSEA = 0.022, SRMR = 0.036). Breach preceded later career compromise and turnover intention, and career compromise preceded later turnover intention (β = 0.16-0.26, all P < 0.01); all six reverse paths were small and non-significant (β = 0.04–0.08). Wald tests favored the hypothesized direction in all six reciprocal pairs, but the difference was significant in only one (breach → career compromise, T1 → T2: P = 0.049) and borderline in its T2 → T3 counterpart (P = 0.060). One indirect pathway was significant: PCB(T1) → CC(T2) → TI(T3) = 0.25 × 0.21 = 0.053 [95% CI (0.032, 0.112)]. A second pathway through compromise carried to T3 was not estimated: the within-wave association between compromise and intention is a residual covariance, not a directional path, and cannot enter an indirect effect. In the original metric this is about 0.08 point on the 6–24 intention scale, under 5% of the 1.67-point rise observed.
Conclusion: Among newly recruited Master of Nursing graduates in Chinese tertiary hospitals, breach was longitudinally associated with higher turnover intention, partly through career compromise. Because the design is observational, these are temporal associations rather than causal effects, and the indirect effect is small. The findings identify a potentially modifiable early-career signal, not a basis for staffing policy; interventions on developmental promises merit controlled evaluation.
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BibTeX
@article{li2026longitudinal,
title = {{The longitudinal mediating role of career compromise between psychological contract breach and turnover intention among newly recruited master of nursing graduates: a cross-lagged panel analysis}},
author = {Rui Li and Qinhui Yu and Jing Peng and Yun Miao and Hong Song},
journal = {Frontiers in Psychology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1943987},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1943987},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The longitudinal mediating role of career compromise between psychological contract breach and turnover intention among newly recruited master of nursing graduates: a cross-lagged panel analysis
AU - Rui Li
AU - Qinhui Yu
AU - Jing Peng
AU - Yun Miao
AU - Hong Song
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
JO - Frontiers in Psychology
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1943987
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1943987
AB - Objective: To examine trajectories and temporal associations among psychological contract breach, career compromise and turnover intention in newly recruited Master of Nursing graduates, and to clarify the mediating role of career compromise. Methods: In this three-wave panel study, 295 Master of Nursing graduates newly recruited to 14 Chinese tertiary hospitals were assessed within the first month of employment (T1) and at 6 (T2) and 12 (T3) months. A cross-lagged panel model was fitted under maximum likelihood, with mediation tested by bootstrap (5,000 iterations). Results: All three variables increased significantly over 12 m (breach, 14.45 ± 2.26 to 15.90 ± 2.35; career compromise, 30.36 ± 5.74 to 34.75 ± 5.97; turnover intention, 15.24 ± 2.14 to 16.91 ± 2.36; all P < 0.001). The final model fitted well (χ2/df = 2.43, CFI = 0.985, TLI = 0.965, RMSEA = 0.022, SRMR = 0.036). Breach preceded later career compromise and turnover intention, and career compromise preceded later turnover intention (β = 0.16-0.26, all P < 0.01); all six reverse paths were small and non-significant (β = 0.04–0.08). Wald tests favored the hypothesized direction in all six reciprocal pairs, but the difference was significant in only one (breach → career compromise, T1 → T2: P = 0.049) and borderline in its T2 → T3 counterpart (P = 0.060). One indirect pathway was significant: PCB(T1) → CC(T2) → TI(T3) = 0.25 × 0.21 = 0.053 [95% CI (0.032, 0.112)]. A second pathway through compromise carried to T3 was not estimated: the within-wave association between compromise and intention is a residual covariance, not a directional path, and cannot enter an indirect effect. In the original metric this is about 0.08 point on the 6–24 intention scale, under 5% of the 1.67-point rise observed. Conclusion: Among newly recruited Master of Nursing graduates in Chinese tertiary hospitals, breach was longitudinally associated with higher turnover intention, partly through career compromise. Because the design is observational, these are temporal associations rather than causal effects, and the indirect effect is small. The findings identify a potentially modifiable early-career signal, not a basis for staffing policy; interventions on developmental promises merit controlled evaluation.
SN - 1664-1078
ER -