Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p> <bold>Background:</bold> Professional identity is widely recognized as a significant determinant of retention intention among nursing interns. High levels of spiritual coping serve as an intrinsic motivation for individuals to persist in their chosen profession. However, the mechanism through which professional identity influences retention intention via positive spiritual coping remains inadequately understood. <bold>Objective:</bold> To examine the pathways through which professional identity and positive spiritual coping affect retention intention among nursing interns. <bold>Design:</bold> A cross-sectional study. <bold>Methods:</bold> Methods: A cross‑sectional survey was conducted among nursing interns who completed their clinical internship at The First Hospital of Changsha during the 2025–2026 academic year. Ethical approval was obtained in February 2026, and data were collected from February to April 2026 using a demographic questionnaire, the Professional Identity Scale for Nurses, the Positive Spiritual Coping Subscale, and the Chinese version of the Nurse Retention Intention Scale. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 26.0 and Mplus 8.3. <bold>Results:</bold> Nursing interns demonstrated moderately high levels of professional identity (103.20±20.10) and positive spiritual coping (62.05±9.69), alongside a moderate level of retention intention (18.54±2.76). Professional identity was positively correlated with positive spiritual coping (r=0.676, P<0.01) and retention intention (r=0.408, P<0.01). Mediation analysis revealed that positive spiritual coping partially mediated the relationship between professional identity and retention intention, exhibiting a negative suppressing effect (β=-0.112, 95% CI [-0.272, -0.002]). The mediating effect accounted for 41.95% of the total effect, partially offsetting the positive direct effect (total effect β=0.267 < direct effect β=0.379). Nevertheless, the total effect remained positive and significant, indicating a suppressing mediation pattern. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> This study elucidates the mechanism by which professional identity and positive spiritual coping influence retention intention among nursing interns, confirming the mediating role of positive spiritual coping. These findings provide a novel theoretical foundation for developing interventions aimed at enhancing retention intention in this population. </p>