Validity and Reliability of the Nurses Self-Concept Instrument for Nursing Students (Korean Version)

Abstract

This study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the Nurses Self-Concept Instrument(NSCI), developed by Angel et al.(2012), for use with Korean nursing students and to provide a framework for assessing the professional self-concept of future nurses. This methodological study included 107 nursing students from D City. The instrument was translated according to the World Health Organization translation process and refined through expert content validity assessment and pilot testing. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 with descriptive statistics, item analysis, exploratory factor analysis with Varimax rotation, and Cronbach’s α coefficients. Corrected item–total correlation coefficients for the 14 items ranged from .607 to .850, indicating adequate item discrimination. Exploratory factor analysis identified three factors—“Nursing Leadership,” “Patient-Centered Learning Competency,” and “Collaborative Practice Application Competency”—which accounted for 73.0% of the total variance. Cronbach’s α was .91 for the overall instrument and ranged from .87 to .89 for the three subscales, providing preliminary support for the construct validity and internal consistency of the K-NSCI. This study is meaningful in that it provides initial evidence regarding the content validity, construct validity, and internal consistency of the 14-item, three-factor K-NSCI. Further studies should examine its factor structure, validity, and reliability using larger and more diverse samples of nursing students across different regions before applying it to assess professional self-concept and evaluate the effectiveness of related educational programs.