Self‐Efficacy, Mental Health and Support Services Use Among Baccalaureate Nursing Students: A Cross‐Sectional Pilot Study

BACKGROUND: Nursing students experience high levels of academic and emotional stress, yet the relationships among self-efficacy, mental health challenges and utilization of institutional support services remain poorly understood in nursing education. In particular, limited empirical work has examined these factors together or assessed the feasibility of studying their associations within nursing student populations. AIMS: To explore the relationship between self-efficacy, mental health challenges and utilization of student support services as potential factors influencing nursing student success and retention and to assess current utilization of student services and feasibility of continuing or adding services. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, exploratory pilot study. REVIEW METHODS: Descriptive and comparative analyses were conducted to examine associations between self-efficacy scores and the use of support services among nursing students to assess current utilization of student services and feasibility of continuing or adding services. DATA SOURCES: Data were collected through a survey distributed to nursing students enrolled in a prelicensure programme at a single academic institution. RESULTS: Tutoring emerged as the most frequently utilized student support service, followed by peer mentoring and counselling. Correlational analyses identified no statistically significant associations between self-efficacy scores and measures of depression, anxiety, or stress in this pilot sample. CONCLUSION: Findings from this pilot study highlight the feasibility of assessing self-efficacy, mental health and student support service utilization within nursing education settings. Future multi-site studies with larger and more diverse samples are recommended to better characterize these relationships and to inform the development of targeted support strategies, improved outreach efforts and optimized use of student support resources. IMPLICATIONS: In this small, underpowered sample, findings suggest that while support services were widely used, their direct association with self-efficacy was limited. These preliminary results highlight the need for further investigation to more fully understand the broader context of nursing student success and retention. IMPACT: This exploratory study contributes preliminary evidence to the limited literature on self-efficacy, support services and nursing student outcomes; however, the small analytic sample limits statistical power and generalizability. Further adequately powered research is needed to inform evidence-based strategies that support student success and retention in nursing education. REPORTING METHOD: This study adhered to the STROBE and Equator guidelines for reporting cross-sectional research. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patients or members of the public were involved in the design, conduct, or reporting of this research.