Career maturity, psychological resilience, and professional self-concept of nursing students in China: A nationwide cross-sectional study

Background: The career maturity of nursing students has an influence on their individual career choices and their personal career development trajectory. Psychological resilience and a positive professional self-concept might help students adjust and adapt to their nursing careers. Therefore, there is a growing need to assess and develop these psychological concepts among nursing students. Purpose: This study aimed to determine the levels of career maturity, psychological resilience, and professional self-concept among Chinese senior nursing students as well as to examine the relationships between the variables. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out across six undergraduate medical colleges in China from May to August 2021. A total of 1223 full-time final year undergraduate nursing students who fulfilled the study criteria were recruited using the universal sampling method. Self-administered questionnaires including the Career Maturity Scale (CMS), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-2 (CD-RISC2), and Professional Self-Concept of Nurses Instrument (PSCNI) were used for data collection. For results reporting, the study complied with the STROBE checklist. Results: The participants' career maturity, professional self-concept, and psychological resilience were found to be at moderate levels. Experience of being a class leader and actively choosing a nursing major were factors that had significant influence on students' career maturity, professional self-concept, and psychological resilience. Pear son's correlation analysis revealed career maturity to be closely related to professional self-concept and psychological resilience (p < 0.01). Results of structural equation modelling analyses revealed a good fit to the data based on various fit indices (chi(2)/df = 6.18, GFI = 0.926, CFI = 0.915, IFI = 0.957, RMSEA = 0.058). Nursing students with positive professional self-concepts demonstrated higher psychological resilience, which in turn influenced their career maturity. Conclusions: The results of this study provide the initial indications for an extended career maturity model. A positive professional self-concept and psychological resilience has the potential to improve the career maturity of nursing students. The study findings provide a basis for nursing educators to focus on improving the professional self-concept and psychological resilience of nursing students.