Association between calling and meaning in life among nursing students:the mediation effect of moral identity

Abstract Background: Improving meaning in life is beneficial for nursing students to provide better service for patients in the future. As a result, it is important to explore factors affecting meaning in life in nursing students. Objective: To investigate the mediating role of moral identity in the relationship between calling and meaning in life in nursing students. Design : This study was a cross-sectional design. Methods: A total of 10756 nursing students were recruited from November16 to January 17, 2023. The General Demographic Information Questionnaire, the Chinese Calling scale (CCS), the Moral Identity Measure (MIM), and the China Meaning Life Questionnaire (C-MLQ）were used to assess their socio-demographics, calling, moral identity, and meaning in life. Correlation analysis was used to examine the relationship between the three variables. The PROCESS macro was used to conduct mediation analysis. The study was compliant with the STROBE checklist. Results: The valid questionnaires were 10583 (effective response rate: 98.39%). Most of the participants were female(85.47%),unmarried(98.74%) and rural students(79.09%). High moral identity and high calling were associated with better meaning in life (all P <0.05). Moral identity mediated the relationship between calling and meaning in life. The mediating effect was 65.14% of the total effect(0.454/0.697). Conclusion: This study contributes to a broader understanding of the factors that influence nursing students' meaning in life. Calling may influence meaning in life, partly through moral identity. Educators can consider enhancing nursing students' meaning in life by increasing their moral identity and calling.