Stress, stressors, stress responses and coping strategies among student nurses in Anambra State, South-East Nigeria

The study was a cross-sectional survey, aimed at assessing the level of perceived stress, common sources of perceived stress, physio-psycho-social responses and coping strategies to stress among student nurses undergoing training in Anambra State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique method was adopted for the study in which 183 student nurses from 4 different institutions were surveyed. Perceived stress scale (PSS) was used to determine the respondent’s level of stress and sources of stress. Physio-psycho-social response scale (PPSRS) was used to ascertain the respondent’s physio-psycho-social well-being, while coping behaviour inventory (CBI) was used to assess the respondents coping strategies. Results showed that 77.66 % of the participants had moderate level of perceived stress (mean score range 1.34-2.66), while 8.83 % had high level of stress (mean score range 2.67-4.00) and 13.51 % low stress level (mean score range 0-1.33). The major source of stress for most of the students was from assignments and workload. The overall mean PPSRS indicated a best health status for most of the institutions. The scores for all the institutions fell within the moderate use of the coping strategies, and the most common coping strategy adopted by the students was problem-solving behaviour. It is recommended that institutions and nurse educators should adopt measures to reduce stress on the students, by giving out assignments at the commencement of a course to give ample time for students to accomplish the academic tasks.