The Mediating Role of Professional Identity in the Relationship Between Chinese Intern Nursing Students' Attitudes Towards Nurses and Academic Resilience: A Cross-Sectional Study.

AIM: To examine the association between Chinese intern nursing students' attitudes towards nurses and academic resilience, and to explore professional identity's statistical mediating role. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: The study was conducted on the intern nursing students in a tertiary hospital in Hubei Province, China from February 2025 to March 2025, using the convenience sampling method. Data were collected using the General Information Questionnaire, Nursing Students' Attitudes towards Nurses during Clinical Practice, Professional Identity Scale for Nursing Students and Nursing Student Academic Resilience Inventory. Data were analysed using non-parametric tests and Spearman correlation analysis. Mediation analysis was conducted using the SPSS PROCESS v4.0 macro. RESULTS: A positive correlation was found between intern nursing students' attitudes towards nurses and their professional identity, as well as with academic resilience. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between professional identity and academic resilience. Mediation analysis showed that professional identity of intern nursing students statistically mediated the association between attitudes towards nurses and academic resilience, with the indirect association accounting for 60.19% of the total association. CONCLUSION: Professional identity statistically mediates the association between intern nursing students' attitudes towards nurses and academic resilience. These findings suggest that fostering positive attitudes towards nurses and enhancing professional identity are concurrently associated with higher academic resilience, and the causal direction of this relationship warrants further investigation with longitudinal studies. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION: Nursing educators and clinical nurses could consider focusing on facilitating positive interactions that shape students' attitudes while implementing programs such as reflective practice and career counselling to cultivate professional identity, thereby strengthening academic resilience, reducing attrition and improving workforce stability. IMPACT: These findings can inform nursing educators, clinical preceptors and policymakers in designing targeted interventions to enhance intern nursing students' academic resilience and reduce attrition. REPORTING METHOD: This study adhered to the STROBE reporting guideline. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patients or members of the public were involved in this study.