Digital literacy and creative teaching behavior among nursing educators: the chain mediating roles of self-efficacy and digital stress

BackgroundThe rapid digital transformation of nursing education has placed increasing demands on nurse educators, yet the psychological mechanisms linking digital literacy to creative teaching behavior remain poorly understood.ObjectivesThis study aimed to examine the chain mediating roles of self-efficacy and digital stress in the relationship between digital literacy and creative teaching behavior among nursing educators.MethodsA cross-sectional survey design was employed. Data were collected from 456 nursing educators recruited from six nursing colleges and universities in China. Participants completed validated self-report measures of digital literacy, self-efficacy, digital stress, and creative teaching behavior. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and chain mediation analysis using the PROCESS macro (Model 6) with bootstrapping were conducted via SPSS 26.0.ResultsDigital literacy was positively correlated with self-efficacy and creative teaching behavior, and negatively correlated with digital stress (all p < 0.001). Chain mediation analysis indicated that digital literacy influenced creative teaching behavior both directly (β = 0.231, p < 0.001) and indirectly via three significant pathways: through self-efficacy alone, through digital stress alone, and through the chain of self-efficacy → digital stress (all 95% CIs excluded zero).ConclusionsSelf-efficacy and digital stress sequentially mediate the relationship between digital literacy and creative teaching behavior among nursing educators. Interventions targeting these psychological mechanisms may help promote creative teaching in the digital era.