Social support and future self-continuity across clinical transition phases in master of nursing specialist students: a longitudinal cross-lagged panel study based on Schlossberg’s Transition Theory

Background Future self-continuity (FSC) is critical to professional identity and career persistence among Master of Nursing Specialist (MNS) students, yet the dynamic interplay between social support and FSC across clinical transition phases remains unclear. Objective Guided by Schlossberg’s Transition Theory, this study examined the developmental trajectories of social support and FSC, as well as their phase-dependent, asymmetric temporal relationships, across three transition phases: Moving In (enrollment), Moving Through (early internship), and Moving Out (internship completion). Methods A three-wave longitudinal study was conducted with 270 MNS students from multiple institutions in Zhejiang Province, China, who were assessed at enrollment (T1), early internship (T2), and internship completion (T3). Social support and FSC were measured using the SSRS and FSCQ, respectively. Latent growth curve modeling (LGCM) and cross-lagged panel modeling (CLPM) were employed for data analysis. Results A total of 263 participants completed all three waves. Social support remained stable ( s = 0.03, p = 0.752), while FSC declined significantly ( s = −1.576, p 0.001). Baseline FSC showed a positive longitudinal association with changes in social support ( β = 0.462, p 0.001), but not vice versa ( β = 0.034, p = 0.726). Cross-lagged results showed that FSC demonstrated temporal precedence over subsequent social support across both phases (T1–T2: β = 0.252; T2–T3: β = 0.109; both p 0.05), whereas social support showed a longitudinal association with FSC only during the pre-clinical phase (T1–T2: β = 0.183, p 0.05) and not during the internship phase (T2–T3: β = −0.012, p 0.05). Conclusion Future self-continuity is more vulnerable to clinical transition challenges than social support and demonstrates a sustained temporal precedence over subsequent social support. The longitudinal effect of social support on FSC is phase-dependent, attenuating as students transition into clinical practice. Interventions should prioritize early FSC cultivation during enrollment and progressively foster internal psychological resources throughout clinical training.