Correlation research on psychological health impact on nursing students against stress, coping way and social support

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors affecting nurse students' psychological status, and the interactions between mental symptoms and stressful factors, coping style and social support in their early clinical experiences. We assessed clinically 288 college nurse students during their first period by adopting College Seniors Stress Scale (CSSS), Trait Coping Style Questionnaire (TCSQ), Support Questionnaire and Symptom checklist 90 (SCL-90). The result of this study was that (1) positive correlations were found between stressful events, negative coping style and the total scores of SCL-90 (r = 0.487, 0.462, p < 0.01), while negative correlations related to positive coping style, social support and the total scores of SCL-90 (r = -0.192, -00.135, p < 0.05) and (2) stressful factors, negative coping style and social support all have main effects on mental symptoms (F = 34.062, 16.090, 20.898, P < 0.01), and positive coping style has no main effect on mental symptoms (F = 1.853, P > 0.05), but interactions relate to stressful factors and positive coping style (F = 14.579, P < 0.01), as well as negative coping style and social support. In order to improve the psychological condition of nursing students, aside from reducing the stress incidents and avoiding negative coping, it is very necessary to enhance the social support systems and to encourage them to adopt the positive coping styles. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.