Professional Identity and Its Influencing Factors Among Nursing Interns: The Mediating Role of Career Adaptability Between Social Support and Professional Identity
- 1Fujian Medical University Affiliated First Quanzhou Hospital
Abstract
PurposeThe internship period is a critical stage for nursing students to develop professional values. This study aimed to investigate the current status of professional identity among nursing interns, analyze the effects of social support, perceived stress, psychological resilience, and career adaptability on professional identity, and explore the mediating role of career adaptability between social support and professional identity, so as to provide empirical evidence for enhancing professional identity and optimizing nursing talent training systems.
MethodsUsing convenience sampling, 407 nursing interns from a tertiary hospital in Quanzhou were selected as participants from May to July 2025. Data were collected using a general information questionnaire, the Social Support Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Psychological Resilience Scale, the Professional Identity Questionnaire for Nursing Students, the Career Adaptability Scale, and the Questionnaire for Nurse Intention to Retention Employed. SPSS 26.0 was used for reliability analysis, descriptive analysis, independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis. The PROCESS macro was employed to test the mediating effect.
ResultsThe total score of professional identity among nursing interns was (61.74{+/-}11.08), with 73.5% showing moderate professional identity. Parents attitude toward nursing, reasons for choosing the profession, personal attitude toward the major, and employment intention showed statistically significant differences in professional identity scores (p<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis revealed that professional identity was significantly positively correlated with social support (r=0.474), psychological resilience (r=0.389), and career adaptability (r=0.609) (p<0.01), and significantly negatively correlated with perceived stress (r=-0.378) (p<0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that career adaptability ({beta}=0.309, p<0.001) and social support ({beta}=0.383, p<0.001) were significant positive predictors of professional identity, whereas reasons for choosing the profession ({beta}=-3.603, p=0.001) and employment intention ({beta}=-7.116, p<0.001) were significant negative predictors. The model explained 49.2% of the variance in professional identity. Mediation effect analysis showed that career adaptability played a partial mediating role between social support and professional identity, with a mediation effect value of 0.288 (95% CI: 0.221-0.363), accounting for 40.2% of the total effect.
ConclusionsNursing interns professional identity is at a moderately high level. Social support and career adaptability are positive influencing factors. Career adaptability plays a partial mediating role between social support and professional identity; social support indirectly enhances professional identity by strengthening career adaptability.
Related
- Factors influencing the professional identity of medical care assistants: a qualitative study
- Professional Identity Formation in Undergraduate Medical Students with Previous Professional Careers
- Educational Interventions for Professional Identity Formation in Undergraduate Medical Education: A Scoping Review
- Professional Change and Identity in Contemporary Physiotherapy: A Six‐Domain Conceptual Framework
- Can emotions be professional? A decolonial reframing of professional identity formation
BibTeX
@misc{zhao2026professional,
title = {{Professional Identity and Its Influencing Factors Among Nursing Interns: The Mediating Role of Career Adaptability Between Social Support and Professional Identity}},
author = {Y. Zhao and F. Liu and L. Chen and X. Li and B. Wu},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.14.26365571},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.14.26365571v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Professional Identity and Its Influencing Factors Among Nursing Interns: The Mediating Role of Career Adaptability Between Social Support and Professional Identity
AU - Y. Zhao
AU - F. Liu
AU - L. Chen
AU - X. Li
AU - B. Wu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.14.26365571
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.14.26365571v1
AB - PurposeThe internship period is a critical stage for nursing students to develop professional values. This study aimed to investigate the current status of professional identity among nursing interns, analyze the effects of social support, perceived stress, psychological resilience, and career adaptability on professional identity, and explore the mediating role of career adaptability between social support and professional identity, so as to provide empirical evidence for enhancing professional identity and optimizing nursing talent training systems. MethodsUsing convenience sampling, 407 nursing interns from a tertiary hospital in Quanzhou were selected as participants from May to July 2025. Data were collected using a general information questionnaire, the Social Support Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Psychological Resilience Scale, the Professional Identity Questionnaire for Nursing Students, the Career Adaptability Scale, and the Questionnaire for Nurse Intention to Retention Employed. SPSS 26.0 was used for reliability analysis, descriptive analysis, independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis. The PROCESS macro was employed to test the mediating effect. ResultsThe total score of professional identity among nursing interns was (61.74{+/-}11.08), with 73.5% showing moderate professional identity. Parents attitude toward nursing, reasons for choosing the profession, personal attitude toward the major, and employment intention showed statistically significant differences in professional identity scores (p<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis revealed that professional identity was significantly positively correlated with social support (r=0.474), psychological resilience (r=0.389), and career adaptability (r=0.609) (p<0.01), and significantly negatively correlated with perceived stress (r=-0.378) (p<0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that career adaptability ({beta}=0.309, p<0.001) and social support ({beta}=0.383, p<0.001) were significant positive predictors of professional identity, whereas reasons for choosing the profession ({beta}=-3.603, p=0.001) and employment intention ({beta}=-7.116, p<0.001) were significant negative predictors. The model explained 49.2% of the variance in professional identity. Mediation effect analysis showed that career adaptability played a partial mediating role between social support and professional identity, with a mediation effect value of 0.288 (95% CI: 0.221-0.363), accounting for 40.2% of the total effect. ConclusionsNursing interns professional identity is at a moderately high level. Social support and career adaptability are positive influencing factors. Career adaptability plays a partial mediating role between social support and professional identity; social support indirectly enhances professional identity by strengthening career adaptability.
ER -