Depression‐related factors in nursing students: A path analysis

Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the effect of self-efficacy and automatic thoughts on depression as mediated by anxiety in nursing students. Methods This was a descriptive study to identify direct and indirect variables that affect depression levels of nursing students and to examine the relationship between independent variables. A total of 477 students from the Nursing Department participated in the study. Findings As a result of the data analysis, the direct effect of self-efficacy and automatic thoughts on depression was found to be significant. The effect of automatic thoughts on depression as mediated by anxiety was significant. Practical Implications It is thought that understanding the relationship between these variables will be useful in designing appropriate interventions for university students with depression, especially for nursing students.