The impact of psychological resilience on professional commitment among caregiving students in Taiwan: A cross-sectional study

Aim/objective: To explore the impact of psychological resilience and its dimensions on professional commitment among caregiving students in Taiwan. Background: Professional commitment is crucial in caregiving professions, yet its relationship with psychological resilience among caregiving students in Taiwan remains underexplored. Understanding this relationship can guide educational strategies to enhance students' professional commitment. Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Methods: The study included 258 students from 23 colleges specializing in caregiver programs in Taiwan in 2021. A stratified random sampling method was used. Data were collected using the Resilience Scale for Adults (measuring dimensions like personal strengths, social resources, and family resources) and the Professional Commitment Scale. Validity and reliability were confirmed through expert review, item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and internal consistency analysis. Results: Personal strengths emerged as the strongest predictor of professional commitment (β = 0.26), followed by participation in extracurricular activities (β = 0.13). Background factors such as college type and experience in campus club explained 13 % of the variance in professional commitment (adjusted R² = 0.13). Future organizational style, family resources, and personal strengths explained an additional 2.0 %, 2.0 %, and 3.0 % of the variance, respectively, leading to a total explanatory power of 24.0 %. Conclusions: To improve caregivers' future professional commitment, it is recommended that caregiving programs focus on enhancing students' psychological resilience and encourage their participation in extracurricular activities.