The relationship between organizational commitment, psychological capital, positive coping styles, and perceived professional benefit among new nurses: a longitudinal study.

Background: New Nurses face multiple challenges, such as high work pressure, role adaptation difficulties, and career uncertainty. A sense of Perceived Professional Benefit, as a positive emotional and cognitive evaluation of one's profession, can help nurses manage stress and adapt to their work environment. However, research on its influencing factors and mechanisms remains limited.

Objective: This longitudinal study aims to explore the impact of organizational commitment on new nurses' sense of Perceived Professional Benefit and examines the mediating roles of psychological capital and positive coping Styles.

Methods: In May 2024, a multi-center, stratified cluster sampling method was used to conduct a longitudinal survey at two-time points (T1 and T2) among 567 New Nurses from five hospitals in China. A total of 494 valid responses were included in the final analysis. The survey covered demographic information, organizational commitment, perceived professional benefit, psychological capital, and positive coping styles. Data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0, and structural equation modeling was performed using Amos 24.0 to examine the mediating role of psychological capital and positive coping styles between organizational commitment and Perceived Professional Benefit.

Results: Organizational commitment showed a significant positive correlation with Perceived Professional Benefit (r = 0.422, p < 0.01), psychological capital (r = 0.396, p < 0.01), and positive coping styles (r = 0.435, p < 0.01). Psychological capital and positive coping Styles played a chain mediating role, explaining 35.82% of the total effect.

Conclusions: Psychological capital and positive coping Styles played a chain mediating role between organizational commitment and perceived professional benefit. Therefore, nursing management can enhance the effect of organizational commitment on perceived professional benefit by intervening in the development of new nurses' psychological capital and training in positive coping styles. Through a systematic support mechanism, managers can guide new nurses to adjust to stress in a positive manner, thereby better promoting the impact of organizational commitment on perceived professional benefit.