A Review of the Mechanisms Underlying the Impact of Occupational Gender Stereotypes on Male Nursing Students’ Professional Identity

Abstract

Purpose: This study systematically examines the psychological mechanisms through which occupational gender stereotypes influence male nursing students’ professional identity, providing a theoretical framework for future intervention studies and nursing education practice. Method: Using a literature review approach and drawing on a psychological perspective, this study synthesizes and analyzes domestic research literature on occupational gender stereotypes, professional identity, self-efficacy, attribution styles, coping strategies, social support, and psychological resilience. Result: Gender stereotypes in the nursing profession do not directly determine male nursing students’ professional identity; rather, they exert a negative influence through multiple psychological pathways: they reduce self-efficacy by undermining the processes of success and failure experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal; they induce negative attribution styles that attribute failure to one’s own gender traits; they prompt individuals to adopt negative coping strategies such as self-blame, fantasy, and avoidance; and they lower individuals’ perceived levels of social support. At the same time, positive coping strategies and high psychological resilience can mitigate the negative effects of gender stereotypes to some extent. Conclusion: Occupational gender stereotypes are a complex psychological process. Nursing educators should focus on their underlying psychological mechanisms and enhance male nursing students’ professional identity by boosting their self-efficacy, training them in positive attributions and coping strategies, and strengthening their social support and psychological resilience.