ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms among Higher Vocational Nursing Interns in Ningbo, China: A Cross-sectional Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Ningbo College of Health Sciences, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China
- 2Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China
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Background: Extensive studies have revealed that undergraduate nursing students experience several mental health problems during internships. Nevertheless, the mental health status of higher vocational nursing interns, especially two-year college interns, has been neglected. This study examined the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms, along with associated risk factors, among higher vocational nursing interns, and, for the first time, compared symptom prevalence between junior college and senior college interns, as well as between two-year and three-year college interns. Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled nursing interns from a higher vocational college in Ningbo, China. Mental health status was assessed using the Chinese versions of the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the main factors associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms by calculating multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: The overall prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms were 36.93% (95% CI: 32.72-41.24%) and 19.56% (95% CI: 16.26-23.31%), respectively. The prevalence of depressive symptoms (P = 0.012) and anxiety symptoms (P < 0.001) was significantly higher among two-year college students than among three-year college students. Factors such as younger age (OR: 1.26), residence in rural areas (OR: 1.80), low family function (OR: 2.96), internships in third-class hospitals (OR: 1.67), and enrollment as a two-year college student (OR: 1.62) significantly increased the risk of depressive symptoms. Rural areas (OR: 3.337), low family functioning (OR: 2.905), internships in third-class hospitals (OR: 1.420), and being a two-year college student (OR: 4.231) significantly increased the risk of anxiety symptoms during the internship. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that psychological problems have been dramatic among Chinese higher vocational nursing students, especially the two-year college interns, during internships. Our findings provide information to aid in promoting the mental health of this vulnerable population.
Keywords: higher vocational nursing students, nursing intern, depressive symptoms, Anxiety symptoms, Cross-sectional study
Received: 23 Jul 2024; Accepted: 30 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Chen, Liu and Ying. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yuchen Ying
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