When Does the Reproduction of Violence Begin? The Effects of Indirect Violence during Clinical Training on Career Identity

In Korea, there are cases where nurses use abusive language while teaching new nurses. Nursing students who observe and experience this kind of violence question themselves if they will be able to perform well in such an environment. This descriptive research study examined the mediating effect of negative emotions and the regulated mediating effect of resilience in the relationship between indirect experiences of violence and career identity. Junior- and senior-year students in the nursing departments of nine universities located in Gyeonggi Province and Seoul were recruited using snowball sampling from August 1st to August 31st, 2021. A total of 254 participants completed the questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the SPSS PROCESS macro. The factors that affected career identity were indirect experience of violence (β = −.1978, p = .0001), negative emotions (β = −.2364, p < .0001), and resilience (β = .3107, p < .0001). Resilience (β = −.1113, p = .0112) had a moderated mediating effect on negative emotions. The index of moderated mediation of negative emotions and resilience was statistically significant at −0.0284 (95% CI −0.0549, −0.0046). As a result of this study, when students see a violent situation, they have negative emotions such as fear of making a mistake, and their confidence in nursing performance decreases. In order to avoid this situation, they avoid their career path. In this study, it showed that the greater the resilience, the greater the ability to overcome it. Violence itself needs to be improved, and resilience strengthening programs are needed for children and women exposed to violence.