Existing research on learned helplessness among nursing interns often overlooks group heterogeneity and fails to explore its relationships with the clinical learning environment and self-esteem. A convenience sample of 381 nursing interns completed standardized questionnaires assessing their demographic characteristics, learned helplessness, clinical learning environment, and self-esteem. Latent profile analysis revealed three distinct profiles of learned helplessness among the nursing interns: "Low Helplessness-Low Hopelessness" (n = 127, 33.3%), "High Helplessness-Low Hopelessness" (n = 172, 45.2%), and "High Helplessness-High Hopelessness" (n = 82, 21.5%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that male gender, current pursuit of a bachelor's degree, and working 4-6 night shifts during the past month were significantly associated with the "High Helplessness-Low Hopelessness" profile (OR = 5.113, 8.796, and 3.207, respectively). Holding an associate degree was significantly associated with the "High Helplessness-High Hopelessness" profile (OR = 7.221). Conversely, positive family relationships and fewer night shifts (0-3) during the past month were significantly associated with the "Low Helplessness-Low Hopelessness" profile (OR = 0.071 and 0.253, respectively). Additionally, a positive work atmosphere, individualized teaching, and high self-esteem were significantly associated with low levels of learned helplessness (OR = 0.850, 0.826, and 0.834, respectively; all p values < 0.05). Given the substantial proportion of interns in the "High Helplessness-Low Hopelessness" group, universities and hospitals should develop targeted educational strategies to effectively reduce learned helplessness among nursing interns.
Li et al. (Sat,) studied this question.