Perceived Parenting Style and Subjective Well-Being among Chinese Nursing Undergraduates: The Role of Self-Efficacy and Gender

The question of how to improve the subjective well-being (SWB) of nursing students is an important factor for reducing nursing loss and improving nursing quality. The current study aimed to investigate the influence of parenting style and self-efficacy (SE) on SWB among Chinese nursing undergraduates. The moderating role of gender between parenting style and SWB was also examined. Descriptive analysis, Pearson’s correlation analysis, and the Hayes’ PROCESS Macro Model 4 and Model 5 were used to analyze the available data. A total of 665 nursing undergraduates (M(age) = 19.86, SD = 1.19) completed questionnaires. The results showed that PPS was positively correlated with SWB (r = 0.421, p < 0.01), while NPS was negatively correlated with SWB (r = −0.167, p < 0.01). Meanwhile, SE was positively correlated with PPS (r = 0.167, p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with NPS (r = −0.175, p < 0.01). In addition, SE was positively correlated with SWB (r = 0.273, p < 0.01) and played a partial mediating role in the association between parenting style and SWB. Furthermore, gender moderated the direct effect of parenting style on SWB. Specifically, compared with male nursing students, parenting style has a greater influence on the SWB of female nursing students. These findings can be used to develop targeted improvement strategies for nursing educators to improve SWB levels among nursing undergraduates.