Abstract
BACKGROUND: Medication management is a critical aspect of nursing, in particular with respect to paediatric patients, in whom medication errors are prevalent. Enhancing competence in this area requires not only general nursing skills but also targeted educational interventions and emotional support. This study aims to examine the relationship between nursing students' levels of liking children and their self-efficacy in paediatric medication administration, thereby exploring the impact of emotional factors on clinical competence. METHODS: This descriptive study was conducted with 308 nursing students in their second, third and fourth years of study at a state university in eastern Turkey between December 2022 and February 2023. Data were collected using the Student Descriptive Information Form, the Barnett Liking of Children Scale and the Medication Administration Self-Efficacy Scale. Statistical analysis included the Mann-Whitney U test, the Kruskal-Wallis H test, Dunn's test for multiple comparisons and Spearman's rho correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 21.82 ± 1.94 years, and 68.8% were female. The mean Medication Administration Self-Efficacy Scale score was 52.97 ± 15.27, and the mean Liking of Children Scale score was 66.65 ± 15.8. No significant relationship was found between the total score on the Liking of Children Scale and the score on the drug preparation subdimension (p > 0.05). However, a positive but weak correlation was found between the total score on the Liking of Children Scale and the score on the drug administration subdimension (r = 0.137; p < 0.05). Similarly, a positive but weak relationship was identified between the total score on the Liking of Children Scale and the score on the Medication Administration Self-Efficacy Scale (r = 0.123; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Nursing students' liking of children is positively, although weakly, associated with their self-efficacy in paediatric medication administration. This result suggests that emotional factors, such as affinity for children, may be relevant when designing nursing education programmes, particularly in paediatric care settings .