The Mediating Role of Resilience in the Association Between Social Interaction Anxiety and Self-Esteem Among Nursing Students in Clinical Settings

Background: Although social interaction anxiety, resilience, and self-esteem have each been investigated among nursing students, limited research has examined whether resilience contributes to the association between social interaction anxiety and self-esteem through an indirect pathway during clinical practice. Addressing this gap may improve the understanding of the psychological factors associated with students’ adaptation in clinical settings. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationships among social interaction anxiety, resilience, and self-esteem and the indirect role of resilience among nursing students. Methods: Using a cross-sectional descriptive research design, the study sampled 880 nursing students from two Egyptian universities through stratified random sampling. Participants completed the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale. An observed-score path analysis was used to examine the direct paths and the indirect pathway through resilience. Results: Social interaction anxiety was negatively correlated with self-esteem (r = −0.409, p < 0.001) and resilience (r = −0.134, p < 0.001), whereas resilience was positively correlated with self-esteem (r = 0.597, p < 0.001). In the observed-score path model, social interaction anxiety was negatively associated with resilience (B = −0.13, p < 0.001) and self-esteem (B = −0.18, p < 0.001), while resilience was positively associated with self-esteem (B = 0.32, p < 0.001). The product of the two component paths was small (approximately −0.04) and is reported descriptively as an indirect pathway. Conclusions: Resilience was positively associated with self-esteem and accounted for a small indirect component of the cross-sectional association between social interaction anxiety and self-esteem. This finding should not be interpreted as evidence of statistically significant or causal mediation.