The aim of this study is to investigate the emotional responses of nursing students to the COVID-19 pandemic and the characteristics of these responses using the Q-methodology. The focus of the Q-methodology is to discover research participants' subjective viewpoints. In May 2021, 50 Korean nursing students from first year to fourth year were selected to participate in the study, and data were collected by asking them to classify 37 selected Q-statements in a normal distribution on a 9-point scale. In the final analysis, a P-sample of 38 nursing students was used. The emotional responses of the Korean nursing students were categorized into four types: self-protection (Type 1), pessimism about the current situation (Type 2), realistic optimism (Type 3), and developmental-seeking (Type 4). The four factors accounted for 39% of the total variance. The individual explanatory powers of the four factors were 8%, 12%, 13%, and 6%, respectively. Thus, the study explored the subjectivity of emotional responses of Korean nursing students to the pandemic. The study recommends considering the results for intervention programs that are designed to prepare nursing students for future health crises and pandemics.
Keywords: Q-methodology; emotional responses; nursing students; pandemic.