Currently submitted to: JMIR Nursing
Date Submitted: Oct 12, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Oct 14, 2026 - Dec 9, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Emotional intelligence as a mediator between clinical learning environment and nursing interns' clinical adaptability: a cross-sectional study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Clinical adaptability is essential for nursing interns,but there is limited research on the underlying pathways among its influcing factors.
Objective:
The study aims to investigate the current status of clinical adaptability and analyze the mediating role of emotional intelligence between clinical environment and clinical adaptability.
Methods:
A questionnaire survey was conducted among 442 undergraduate nursing students from Chinese universities interning at tertiary hospitals in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region from March to May 2025. Instruments included a general information questionnaire, the Nursing Students' Clinical Practice Maladaptation Scale, the Emotional Intelligence Scale, and the Nursing Clinical Learning Environment Evaluation Scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 and Amos 29.0, employing mean ± standard deviation, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and structural equation modeling.
Results:
40.79% of interns experienced maladaptation. Correlation analysis showed it was positively correlated with clinical environment and emotional intelligence. The structural equation model revealed emotional intelligence partially mediated between them. The direct effect was 0.33 (P < 0.001, 95% CI: 0.20 - 0.46), accounting for 41.07% of the total effect.
Conclusions:
Nursing interns demonstrate a medium level of clinical adaptability, though varying degrees of maladaptation persist. Preference for the nursing profession, emotional intelligence, and clinical environment are positive influencing factors. Emotional intelligence plays a significant mediating role between clinical environment and clinical adaptability.
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