Negative life events and school adjustment among Chinese nursing students: The mediating role of psychological capital

Abstract

Background: Adjustment difficulties of college students are common and their school adjustment has gained wide concern in recent years. Negative life events and psychological capital (PsyCap) have been associated with school adjustment. However, the potential impact of negative life events on PsyCap, and whether PsyCap mediates the relationship between negative life events and school adjustment among nursing students have not been studied.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship among negative life events, PsyCap, and school adjustment among five-year vocational high school nursing students in China and the mediating role of PsyCap between negative life events and school adjustment.

Design: A cross-sectional survey design was conducted.

Participants and settings: 643 five-year vocational high school nursing students were recruited from three public high vocational colleges in Shandong of China.

Methods: Adolescent Self-Rating Life Event Checklist (ASLEC), the Psychological Capital Questionnaire for Adolescent Students scale (PCQAS), and the Chinese College Student Adjustment Scale (CCSAS) were used in this study. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were performed to explore the mediating role of PsyCap.

Results: Negative life events were negatively associated with the dimensions of school adjustment (interpersonal relationship adaptation, learning adaptation, campus life adaptation, career adaptation, emotional adaptation, self-adaptation, and degree of satisfaction). PsyCap was positively associated with the dimensions of school adjustment and negatively associated with negative life events. PsyCap partially mediated the relationship between negative life events and school adjustment.

Conclusions: Negative life events may increase the risk of school maladjustment in individuals with low PsyCap. Interventions designed to increase nursing students' PsyCap might buffer the stress of adverse life events, and thereby, enhance students' positive adjustment to school.

Keywords: Negative life events; Nursing students; Psychological capital; School adjustment.