Influence of psychological stress and coping styles in the professional identity of undergraduate nursing students after the outbreak of COVID-19: A cross-sectional study in China

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the influencing factors in professional identity of undergraduate nursing students after the outbreak of COVID-19. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: The study covered 2,999 nursing students in six undergraduate nursing schools. Several self-report questionnaires were used to collect the general information, psychological stress, coping styles and professional identity of the undergraduate nursing students. Results: The overall average score of the professional identity of nursing students (3.67 ± 0.51) has increased significantly after the outbreak of COVID-19. The professional identity of the undergraduate nursing students was negatively correlated with psychological stress (r = −0.23, p <.001).