title: The influence of perceived prejudice on willingness to be a nurse via the mediating effect of satisfaction with major: A cross-sectional study among chinese male nursing students.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The gender-based stereotype of nursing as a female profession has been a large obstacle to men entering the nursing profession. However, there is little quantitative research on the influence of prejudice induced by this stereotype on male nursing students' willingness to be nurses.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the effect of perceived prejudice on willingness to be a nurse via the mediating effect of satisfaction with major among Chinese male nursing students.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional survey was used.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred and sixty male nursing students who were enrolled either in bachelor's programs in universities or advanced diploma programs in colleges in Jinan, China, were surveyed using questionnaires measuring perceived prejudice, satisfaction with major, and willingness to be a nurse. Structural equation modeling with bias-corrected bootstrapping was employed to determine the influence of perceived prejudice on willingness to be a nurse with major satisfaction as a mediator.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Male students who were in an advanced diploma nursing program and those for whom nursing was the first-choice major reported significantly less perceived prejudice, greater satisfaction with major, and greater willingness to be nurses than did those in a bachelor's nursing program and those for whom nursing was not the first-choice major, respectively. Moreover, although perceived prejudice had no significant direct effect on willingness to be a nurse (β=0.07, p>0.05), it did have a strong indirect effect (full mediation) via satisfaction with major (β=-0.59, p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Perceived prejudice strongly influenced male nursing students' willingness to be nurses via the full mediating effect of satisfaction with major. Because this obsolete stereotype of nursing as a female occupation gives birth to prejudice against male nursing students, effective measures should be taken to change this stereotype to recruit more men as nursing staff.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Shandong University, Jinan, China. Electronic address: fdj1978@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Danjun
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Wenjing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Jinan Vocational College of Nursing, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Shiyu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Jieru
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002321:Career Choice; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008571:Men / Q000523:psychology*; D009042:Motivation; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011287:Prejudice; D013240:Stereotyping; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Major satisfaction; Male nursing students; Mediating effect; Prejudice; Willingness to be a nurse