Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The main research objectives include: (1) translating the English version of the Planned Self-Employment Scale (PSES), developed within the Theory of Planned Behavior, into Chinese and assess its reliability and validity among Chinese undergraduate nursing students, thereby establishing the Chinese version of PSES; and (2) employing the Chinese version of PSES to survey self-employment intentions and influencing factors among Chinese undergraduate nursing students. METHODS: In the initial psychometric testing phase, the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the PSES into the Chinese was conducted according to guideline for Cross-Cultural Adaption. The recruitment of 8 nursing experts to conduct face validity assessments through face-to-face interviews and evaluate both qualitative and quantitative content validity. From January to March 2022, 300 undergraduate nursing students were recruited from the investigator institutions to assess the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the PSES through a single-center cross-sectional study. The psychometric properties of the PSES were evaluated through item analysis, reliability and validity. Item analysis was conducted using the critical ratio (CR) method and Pearson correlation coefficients. Validity tests included face validity, content validity, construct validity, and convergent validity. Reliability tests included Cronbach’s α coefficient and test-retest reliability. In the survey study phase, convenience sampling was used. 936 undergraduate nursing students were recruited from all 10 institutions which offer baccalaureate nursing programs within the same province from April to July 2022 for a multi-center cross-sectional study using the Chinese version of the PSES. This phase examined self-employment intention and its influencing factors among Chinese undergraduate nursing students. RESULTS: In the initial psychometric testing phase, the Chinese version of the 12-item scale demonstrated good psychometric properties. Item analysis indicated that no items required removal. The face validity was evaluated by 8 experts, who agreed that the items’ appearance is consistent with the scale’s overall goal. Both quantitative and qualitative content validity evaluations demonstrated that the Chinese version of the PSES maintained excellent content validity. Confirmatory factor analysis showed good fit indices: χ²/df = 3.58, CFI = 0.93, RFI = 0.91, IFI = 0.95, NFI = 0.93, and TLI = 0.93. Reliability measures were also robust, with a total Cronbach’s α coefficient was 0.92, and the test-retest reliability was 0.93. In the survey study phase, the average score of intentions of self-employment of Chinese undergraduate nursing students was 3.60 ± 1.20, which was at a moderate level. Structural equation analysis showed that Attitude (β = 0.14, P < 0.001), Subjective Norm (β = 0.19, P < 0.001), and Perceived Behaviour Control (β = 0.49, P < 0.001) had a significant positive effect on Intention. CONCLUSION: The Chinese version of the PSES scale has good reliability and is applicable to nursing students in China. Policy makers should enhance pertinent laws and regulations, increase nursing students’ recognition of self-employed nurses, enhance social support, and cultivate nursing students’ innovative and entrepreneurial abilities to increase self-employment intention. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12912-025-04172-9.