Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Dec 15;15(12):e0243796.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243796. eCollection 2020.

Mediating effects of general self-efficacy on the relationship between the source of meaning in life and prosocial behaviours in vocational college nursing students: A cross-sectional study

Linan Cheng  1 , Yansheng Ye  1 , Zhaoyang Zhong  2 , Fengying Zhang  1 , Xiuying Hu  1 , Renshan Cui  3 , Qian Chen  1
Affiliations

Mediating effects of general self-efficacy on the relationship between the source of meaning in life and prosocial behaviours in vocational college nursing students: A cross-sectional study

Linan Cheng et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the mediating effect of general self-efficacy on the relationship between the source of meaning in life (SML) and prosocial behaviours in vocational college nursing students.

Methods: Between March and June 2019, a cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted, and 799 nursing students from three vocational colleges completed the Source of Meaning in Life Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale and Prosocial Behaviours Scale. Data were analyzed using structural equation modelling and statistical analysis by SPSS (version 23.0, IBM).

Results: The average SML, general self-efficacy and prosocial behaviours scores of the 799 nursing students were 6.43±0.83, 2.48±0.59 and 3.69±0.62, respectively. Correlation analysis showed that SML, general self-efficacy and prosocial behaviours were positively correlated (P<0.01). General self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between SML and prosocial behaviours (P<0.01); this mediating effect contributed 22.97% of the total effect and explained 17.6% of the variance in the dependent variable.

Conclusions: Educators should focus on cultivating nursing students' cognition and experience of meaning in life and their efficacy in life, study and work, which can improve students' "people-oriented" service and prosocial behaviour and the quality of nursing services.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Hypothesized theoretical model.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Results of the effect of self-efficacy on the source of meaning in life and prosocial behaviours among the whole sample.
Note. Abbreviations: PMH = physical and mental health; RH = relationship harmony; EL = Enjoy in Life; SC = social concern; SG = self-growth; PB = prosocial behaviours; The source of meaning in life = SML; SE = Self-efficacy. All the coefficients in this figure are standardized and significant at level 0.01. The numbers on the straight arrows indicate the standard path coefficients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Zeng YL, Wang GF, Xie CX, Hu XY, Reinhardt JD. Prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety and symptoms of stress in vocational college nursing students from Sichuan, China: a cross-sectional study. Psychology, Health & Medicine. 2019;24(7):798–811. 10.1080/13548506.2019.1574358 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Rodgers S, Zhu J, Melia K. Can education resolve nursing shortage in China? Athens Journal of Health. 2015;2(3):177–90.
    1. The Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2017-01/06/content_5157422.htm. Accessed May 5, 2020.
    1. Li WJ, Kang FY. Some experience of nursing humanistic curriculum setting. China Health Human Resources. 2019; (8):62–63. 10.3969/j.issn.1008-7370.2019.08.019 - DOI
    1. Deng H, Hu Y. Discussion on the ways of ideological and political education for students in higher vocational colleges in the new period. Journal of Jiamusi Vocational Institute. 2020;36(4):228–229.

Publication types