Proactive personality, professional self-efficacy and academic burnout in undergraduate nursing students in China

Background: Academic burnout can affect nursing students' academic performance and psychological well-being. Little is known about the associations between proactive personality, professional self-efficacy and academic burnout. Purpose: To assess the prevalence of academic burnout in undergraduate nursing students and to explore the associations between proactive personality, professional self-efficacy and academic burnout among nursing students in China. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design. Undergraduate nursing students were recruited from five medical schools in China to participate in an online survey from April to May 2020. The Proactive Personality Scale, Professional Self-Efficacy Scale for Nursing Students and Academic Burnout Scale were used to measure students' proactive personality, professional self-efficacy and academic burnout. Results: A total of 1219 nursing students completed the questionnaire. The prevalence of academic burnout was 31.5% in nursing students, and improper behaviour showed the highest subscale score. Proactive personality, professional self-efficacy and academic year were negatively associated with nursing students' academic burnout. Conclusions: Academic burnout is prevalent in undergraduate nursing students in China. This study contributes to the understanding of the associations between proactive personality, professional self-efficacy and academic burnout in nursing students. Nursing educators should develop strategies to enhance students' proactivity and professional self-efficacy to decrease their academic burnout.