A Conceptual Replication Study on the Relationship Between Self-Leadership, Goal Commitment, and Problem-Solving Ability in Nursing Students at a Single University

Purpose This study aimed to reconfirm the relationships among variables and verify the reliability of previous research findings through a conceptual replication study examining the associations between self-leadership, goal commitment, and problem-solving ability in nursing students. Recently, the nursing education environment in Korea has faced new challenges due to rapid expansion of student enrollment driven by national nursing workforce policies, resulting in increased heterogeneity within student populations. As disparities in major adaptation and learning motivation among students have intensified, a re-examination of factors related to the development of core competencies has become increasingly necessary. Methods A survey was conducted with 201 nursing students enrolled in a nursing program at a university located in U City. Data were collected using the Revised Self-Leadership Questionnaire (RSLQ), a goal commitment scale, and a problem-solving ability scale. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson's correlation analysis. Results Self-leadership (r = .54, p < .001) and goal commitment (r = .53, p < .001) showed statistically significant positive correlations with problem-solving ability. Analysis of differences according to general characteristics indicated that all three variables differed significantly by academic year, academic achievement, major satisfaction, and interpersonal relationships. Notably, the group with higher academic achievement showed significantly higher correlations across all competency indicators (p < .01). Conclusion This study strengthened theoretical credibility by demonstrating that the relationships among variables identified in previous research can be stably reproduced within a controlled, single-institution environment. The findings reconfirm the importance of non-cognitive assets such as self-leadership and goal commitment in relation to nursing students' problem-solving competence. The results particularly suggest the need for educational support that considers competency stagnation during the sophomore year and differences according to academic achievement levels.