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
. 2025 Jan;12(1):e70137.
doi: 10.1002/nop2.70137.

Influencing Factors of Social Anxiety of Undergraduate Nursing Students Based on Random Forest Model: A Cross-Sectional Study

Yuling Jia  1 , Yuexue Yue  1
Affiliations

Influencing Factors of Social Anxiety of Undergraduate Nursing Students Based on Random Forest Model: A Cross-Sectional Study

Yuling Jia et al. Nurs Open. 2025 Jan.

Abstract

Aim: Social anxiety is common among students, yet research specifically on undergraduate nursing students is scarce. Previous studies have identified various influencing factors but lack a clear ranking of their importance, making it challenging to implement effective intervention strategies with limited resources. This study aims to assess the level of social anxiety in undergraduate nursing students and rank the importance of its influencing factors, providing essential insights for developing efficient and targeted interventions.

Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 546 undergraduate nursing students in China.

Methods: Data were collected via a web-based questionnaire, which included the fear of positive and negative evaluation scale, the self-efficacy scale, and the social anxiety scale. The random forest model was employed to analyse the data and rank the importance of the influencing factors.

Results: The total social anxiety score among undergraduate nursing students was 11.20 ± 4.71. Social anxiety had a positive correlation with both fear of positive evaluation (r = 0.521, p < 0.001) and fear of negative evaluation (r = 0.648, p < 0.001) and a negative correlation with self-efficacy (r = -0.273, p < 0.001). According to the random forest model, the top five predictors of social anxiety in this study were fear of negative evaluation, fear of positive evaluation, personality traits, self-efficacy, and academic performance.

Conclusion: Attention to social anxiety in undergraduate nursing students is necessary, particularly for those with a higher fear of evaluations, introverted personalities, lower self-efficacy, and poor academic performance. Nursing educators should consider recognising social anxiety and developing personalised interventions tailored to the specific characteristics of these students.

Patient or public contribution: All participants contributed to the conducting of this study by completing self-reported questionnaires.

Keywords: influencing factors; random forest model; social anxiety; undergraduate nursing students.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Ranking of importance of factors associated with social anxiety. (FNE, fear of negative evaluation; FPE, fear of positive evaluation).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Al‐Hazmi, B. H. , Sabur S. S., and Al‐Hazmi R. H.. 2020. “Social Anxiety Disorder in Medical Students at Taibah University, Saudi Arabia.” Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care 9, no. 8: 4329–4332. 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_915_20 . - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Annoni, A. M. , Petrocchi S., Camerini A. L., and Marciano L.. 2021. “The Relationship Between Social Anxiety, Smartphone Use, Dispositional Trust, and Problematic Smartphone Use: A Moderated Mediation Model.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 5: 2452. 10.3390/ijerph18052452. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Azad‐Marzabadi, E. , and Amiri S.. 2017. “Morningness‐Eveningness and Emotion Dysregulation Incremental Validity in Predicting Social Anxiety Dimensions.” International Journal of General Medicine 10: 275–279. 10.2147/IJGM.S144376. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bandura, A. , Cioffi D., Taylor C. B., and Brouillard M. E.. 1988. “Perceived Self‐Efficacy in Coping With Cognitive Stressors and Opioid Activation.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 55, no. 3: 479–488. 10.1037//0022-3514.55.3.479. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cao, C. X. , and Qi S. S.. 2021. “The Relationship Between Potential Categories of Emotion Regulation Self‐Efficacy and Social Anxiety in College Students.” Chinese Journal of Behavioral Medicine and Brain Science 30, no. 11: 1040–1044. 10.3760/cma.j.cn371468-20210712-00393. - DOI