The Status Of Nursing Undergraduates’ Career Maturity And Its Influencing Factors

Objective:To investigate the level of career maturity and its influencing factors of nursing undergraduates with social cognitive career theory, thus provide references for vocational education of nursing undergraduates.Methods:The study was carried out in a comprehensive undergraduate college in Hunan Province by the cluster sampling method in September2010. A total of467nursing undergraduates were invited to participate. Data were collected by the Chinese student career maturity inventory (CSCMI), Holland vocational preference test, professional commitment scale of Undergraduates (UPCS), and general information. The statistical software SPSS15.0was used to analyze the collected data, the statistical methods included Statistical Description, Two-sample t-test, One-way ANOVA, Pearson Inter-correlation, and Hierarchical Stepwise Regression analysis.Results:1The average score of nursing undergraduates’career maturity was (3.12±0.29). The mean score of the dimensions of CSCMI arranged in ascending order as follows:professional reference (3.74±0.45), professional independent (3.56±0.62), professional goals(3.15±0.37), professional confidence(2.92±0.69), families’ dependence(2.84±0.72), professional value(2.53±0.61).2The average score of nursing undergraduates’career maturity was influenced by grade, the sequence of birth, family locations, monthly family income per capita, father’s education degree(P<0.05). The average score of nursing undergraduates’ career maturity was influenced by liberal and sciences, practicing activities (P<0.05).3The main career type of nursing undergraduates was the society types, accounting for50.1%. The average score of specialty commitment was (3.30±0.42). The mean score of the dimensions of UPCS arranged in ascending order as follows:norm commitment(4.08±0.56), affective commitment (3.26±0.52), continued commitment (3.07±0.44), ideal commitment (3.00±0.60).4Nursing undergraduates’career maturity was positively correlated with the society types(r=0.218,P<0.05). Nursing undergraduates’career maturity was negatively correlated with the investigative types(r=-0.155,P<0.05). Nursing undergraduates’ career maturity was positively correlated with continued commitment(r=0.213, P<0.01).5The main predicting factors of nursing undergraduates’career maturity were grade, liberal and sciences, practicing activities, society types, investigative types, continued commitment, ideal commitment. They all accounted for21.1%of the variance.Conclusion:1The level of career maturity in nursing undergraduates is above the average level.2The average score of nursing undergraduates’career maturity had significantly difference in terms of grade, the sequence of birth, family locations, monthly family income per capita, father’s education degree, liberal and sciences, practicing activities.3The educators of nursing undergraduates should take some reasonable measures to encourage nursing undergraduates to participate in practicing activities, increase nursing undergraduates’career interest in nursing, and improve the level of continued commitment, so as to improve the level of career maturity.