Abstract
BACKGROUND: Transition shock commonly occurs as nursing interns move from student roles to professional practice, leading to confusion, uncertainty, and a lack of clarity in their psychological, physiological, knowledge and skills development. AIM: This study aims to investigate the status of transition shock among Chinese nursing interns and explore the mediating role of feedback-seeking behavior in the relationship between self-efficacy and transition shock. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional survey study following the STROBE guidelines. A convenience sample of 450 nursing interns were surveyed from February to March 2025. Participants completed a questionnaire that included socio-demographic information, Transition Shock Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), and Feedback-Seeking Behavior Scale. The Bootstrap method was applied to assess the mediating effects. RESULTS: The mean ± SD for transition shock among nursing interns was 59.28 ± 4.53. Factors influencing transition shock included gender, reasons for choosing nursing, physical health status, enjoyment of the nursing major, class leadership roles, only-child status, and parental education levels. Self-efficacy (r = -0.651, p < 0.001) and feedback-seeking behavior (r = -0.711, p < 0.001) were negatively correlated with transition shock. Feedback-seeking behavior was found to mediate the relationship between self-efficacy and transition shock (indirect effect = -0.585, 95% CI: -0.766 to -0.389), accounting for 66.1% of the total effect. CONCLUSION: Feedback-seeking behavior is the mediating variable between self-efficacy and transition shock of nursing interns. These insights provide evidence-based strategies for targeted interventions aimed at alleviating transition shock among nursing interns.