Anxiety, perceived stress and coping strategies in nursing students: a cross-sectional, correlational, descriptive study

Abstract

Background For many nursing students, clinical training represents a stressful experience. The levels of stress and anxiety may vary during students’ educational training, depending on their ability to adopt behavioral strategies for coping with stress, and other factors. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between anxiety, perceived stress, and the coping strategies used by nursing students during their clinical training. Methods A cross-sectional correlational descriptive study. The sample consisted of 190 nursing students enrolled in the Nursing Faculty of Ciudad Real University in Spain. Participants provided data on background characteristics and completed the following instruments: the Perceived Stress Scale; the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Coping Behavior Inventory. Relationships between scores were examined using Spearman’s rho. Results The mean age of participants was 20.71 ± 3.89 years (range 18–46 years). Approximately half of the students (47.92%) indicated a moderate level of stress with a mean Perceived Stress Scale score of 22.78 (±8.54). Senior nursing students perceived higher levels of stress than novice students. The results showed a significant correlation for perceived stress and state anxiety (r = 0.463, p < .000) and also for trait anxiety (r = 0.718, p < .000). There was also a significant relationship between the total amount of perceived stress and the following domains of the coping behavior inventory: problem solving (r = −.452, p < .01), self-criticism (r = .408 p < .01), wishful thinking (r = .459, p < .01), social support(r = −.220, p < .01), cognitive restructuring (r = −.375, p < .01), and social withdrawal (r = .388, p < .01). In the current study, the coping strategy most frequently used by students was problem-solving, followed by social support and cognitive restructuring. Conclusions Nursing students in our study presented a moderate level of stress, in addition there was a significant correlation with anxiety. Nursing teachers and clinical preceptors/mentors should be encouraged to develop programs to help prepare nursing students to cope with the challenges they are about to face during their clinical placements.

Psilocybin for End-of-Life Anxiety Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Trait anxiety is associated with stress coping strategies and could be considered part of the personality dimension of neuroticism rather than emotional stability [ 25 ]. A cross-sectional study enrolling nursing students reported that the greatest predictor of perceived stress was anxiety trait, and perceived stress was also correlated to several coping strategies, such as problem-solving [ 31 ]. Among women with breast cancer, trait anxiety was significantly associated with problem-focused coping strategies with a focus on emotion [ 32 ].…”

“…25 A cross-sectional study enrolling nursing students reported that the greatest predictor of perceived stress was anxiety trait, and perceived stress was also correlated to several coping strategies, such as problem-solving. 31 Among women with breast cancer, trait anxiety was significantly associated with problem-focused coping strategies with a focus on emotion. 32 A study exploring personality parameters reported significant decreases in neuroticism scores after psilocybin therapy.…”

Online Learning in Nursing Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Stress, Satisfaction, and Academic Performance

“…Undergraduate nursing students face various stresses threatening their mental health and well-being (Oducado et al, 2017). Even before the pandemic, many studies have disclosed moderate to high stress levels among the undergraduate nursing students in Brazil (Mussi et al, 2020) and Spain (Onieva-Zafra et al, 2020). During the pandemic, the lockdown period also increased the undergraduate nursing students' stress level (Gallego-Gómez et al, 2020).…”

Improvement in the psychological health of nurses working during the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…16 The mean baseline perceived stress score of 19.1 was similar to that reported in a study of Iraqi physicians (mean = 18.8) 11 and to that reported in student nurses (mean = 22.7). 17 Stress levels reduced and psychological wellbeing improved over time in our sample. This result is interesting.…”