The influence of organizational caring on mobile phone addiction in undergraduate nursing students: The chain mediating role of perceived stress and self-control.

BACKGROUND

The incidence of mobile phone addiction (MPA) is increasing in undergraduates and may lead to depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders. Undergraduate nursing students are important group for clinical services; therefore poor mental health has an important implications for the quality of future nursing work and the relationship between nurses and patients.

OBJECTIVES

To explore the connection between organizational caring and MPA in Chinese undergraduate nursing students and to investigate the mechanisms of perceived stress and self-control in this relationship by constructing a chain mediation model.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study.

METHODS

A total of 900 participants (age range 18-25 years,  = 20.99,  = 1.58, 94.0 % female) were recruited from 10 universities in China. Data were collected using an online survey between February and March 2023. Organizational caring, subjective stress, self-control ability, and MPA among undergraduate nursing students were assessed.

RESULTS

(1) The prevalence of MPA was 34.9 % (314/900). (2) MPA in undergraduate nursing students was negatively correlated with self-control ( = -0.468,  < 0.001) and organizational caring ( = -0.156,  < 0.001), and positively correlated with perceived stress ( = 0.362,  < 0.001). (3) Perceived stress and self-control mediated the relationship between organizational caring and MPA, and the relative mediating effect values were 16.6 % and 17.2 %, respectively. (4) Organizational caring had an indirect effect on MPA through the chain mediation effect of perceived stress and self-control, and the relative mediating effect value was 19.1 %.

CONCLUSION

Organizational caring, perceived stress and self-control directly influenced MPA among undergraduate nursing students. Additionally, organizational caring indirectly affected MPA through perceived stress and self-control. To further mitigate MPA among students, nursing managers and educators should enhance organizational caring, reduce perceived stress, and improve self-control abilities.