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Proactive personality, professional self-efficacy and academic burnout in undergraduate nursing students in China
Ling-Na Kong1, Li Yang2, Yi-Nan Pan3
1School of Nursing, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, PR China; School of Nursing, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, PR China.
Background:
Academic burnout can affect nursing students' academic performance and psychological well-being. Little is known about the associations between proactive personality, professional self-efficacy and academic burnout.
Purpose:
To assess the prevalence of academic burnout in undergraduate nursing students and to explore the associations between proactive personality, professional self-efficacy and academic burnout among nursing students in China.
Methods:
This study used a cross-sectional design. Undergraduate nursing students were recruited from five medical schools in China to participate in an online survey from April to May 2020. The Proactive Personality Scale, Professional Self-Efficacy Scale for Nursing Students and Academic Burnout Scale were used to measure students' proactive personality, professional self-efficacy and academic burnout.
Results:
A total of 1219 nursing students completed the questionnaire. The prevalence of academic burnout was 31.5% in nursing students, and improper behaviour showed the highest subscale score. Proactive personality, professional self-efficacy and academic year were negatively associated with nursing students' academic burnout.
Conclusions:
Academic burnout is prevalent in undergraduate nursing students in China. This study contributes to the understanding of the associations between proactive personality, professional self-efficacy and academic burnout in nursing students. Nursing educators should develop strategies to enhance students' proactivity and professional self-efficacy to decrease their academic burnout.
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