The impact of intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking efficacy among nursing students: The mediating effect of planned happenstance skills

Purpose: This study attempted to investigate the mediating effects of planned happenstance skills on the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking efficacy among nursing students.Methods: This descriptive correlation study involved 160 junior and senior nursing students. The data were collected in September 2024, and an online survey was conducted through an internet community of nursing students. The collected data were analyzed through an independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and regression analysis using the SPSS 25.0 program. The mediating effects of the variable were verified using the bootstrapping in SPSS Process macro.Results: The results of the correlation analysis for the respective variables showed that intolerance of uncertainty had a statistically significant negative correlation with planned happenstance skills (r= -.31, p<.001) and job-seeking efficacy (r= -.18, p=.026) and indicated a statistically significant positive correlation between planned happenstance skills and job-seeking efficacy (r=.55, p<.001). Verifying the mediating effects of the variable showed that planned happenstance skills had a significant effect between intolerance of uncertainty and job-seeking efficacy.Conclusion: Nursing students need to recognize the importance of tolerating job market uncertainty in the context of a complex and rapidly changing society. Because planned happenstance skills act as a mediating factor for mitigating the negative relationaship caused by uncertainty and preparing for the future, it is necessary for nursing students to prepare ways to enhance their levels of planned happenstance skills in the process of career preparation.