Association Between Self-Efficacy and Psychological Distress with Readiness for Online Learning Among Nursing Students

Introduction: During the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, online learning has become an important strategy in the implementation of nursing education, in order to prevent the SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the education sector. This study aimed to assess: (i) the correlation between self-efficacy and psychological distress; (ii) the correlation between self-efficacy and online learning readiness; and (iii) the correlation between psychological distress and online learning readiness among nursing students in Indonesia. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted from October until December 2020, and involved 500 nursing students from 3 universities in Yogyakarta, Indonesia who were recruited using consecutive sampling methods. The instruments used in this study were: 1) the 10-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10) to assess the psychological distress, 2) Online Learning Self-Efficacy Scale (OLSES) to assess online learning self-efficacy, and 3) Student Online Learning Readiness (SOLR) to assess online learning readiness. Spearman's rank test was used to analyze the correlation between online learning self-efficacy, psychological distress, and online learning readiness. Results: Most of the nursing students (70.6) had psychological distress ranging from mild to severe distress. The self-efficacy had an inverse correlation with psychological distress (Rho=-0.488, p=0.001). Contrarily, self-efficacy was positively correlated with online learning readiness (Rho=0.708, P=0.001). Psychological distress was inversely correlated with online learning readiness (Rho=-0.423, p=0.001). Conclusion: Online learning self-efficacy and psychological distress are significantly correlated with online learning readiness. Strategies to increase self-efficacy and ameliorates psychological distress, such as appropriate online learning training, adequate technical assistance, and psychological support were required to improve students' online learning readiness. © 2023 Authors. All rights reserved.