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Depression, Anxiety and Stress Levels Among the First Year Nursing Students

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Nursing involves activities and interpersonal relationships that are often stressful. A study done in Iran found that first-year students experienced greater stress than students in subsequent years whereby mean stress was significantly greater in first year than in fourth year nursing students with p = 0.009 4. Coping has been viewed as a stabilizing factor that may assist individuals in maintaining psychosocial adaptation during stressful events. There are many ways to cope with stress. In this study, transference coping strategy (crying, sleeping, eating, listening to music, hang out with friends, take a deep breath, shopping, watch television, take a bath, screaming, internet surfing, sports, punch something and do household chores) …show more content…

Psychiatric symptoms were more prevalent in these students than in the general population13. The majority of nursing students (35.7%) have moderate anxiety followed by Normal (21.4%) and extremely severe anxiety (17.9%). In contrast, a study by Sahar G. Behilak from King Faisal University in Saudi Arabia, however, found that the majority of their female nursing students have low anxiety, accounting for 70.9% 14. This is alarming as there is a higher percentage of nursing students in University Malaya who experience moderate anxiety as compared to Saudi Arabia, which is also an Asian country. This may represent the difference in coping mechanisms between the two countries. Nevertheless, it is important to note that a substantial percentage of our nursing students have extremely severe anxiety, which cannot be ignored as extremely severe anxiety is associated with depression. This necessitates an intervention from an early stage.

The differences in the mean scale of depression, anxiety and stress between those in a relationship and those who are not in a relationship are found to be not significant. Generally, having a close relationship will give us extra social support so that problems can be shared and discussed. This is somehow true as Brown, Bhrolchain & Harris (1975)15 have found that intimate social relationship may

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