Clinical Incivility, Perceived Stress, and Psychological Resilience in Nursing Students

BACKGROUND: The shortage of nurses and early attrition of nursing students are global challenges. Incivility in clinical practice is associated with stress and may relate to students' intention to leave the profession. Psychological resilience is linked to better stress management.

METHOD: This analytical cross-sectional study included 421 nursing students from hospitals in Henan, China. Participants completed the Uncivil Behaviour in Clinical Nursing Education Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and Perceived Stress Scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Mplus.

RESULTS: Incivility was positively correlated with perceived stress (β = 0.325, p < .001) and negatively correlated with psychological resilience (β = -0.344, p < .001). Psychological resilience partially mediated the relationship between incivility and perceived stress (indirect effect = 0.067, 95% CI [0.022, 0.130], p = .044).

CONCLUSION: Psychological resilience partially mediated the effect of incivility on stress, highlighting the need for combined system-level and student-focused strategies in clinical education.