The Effects of Self-efficacy, Appearance Satisfaction in Major on Employment Stress of Nursing College Students

This study aimed to determine the effects of self-esteem, appearance satisfaction, and satisfaction in their major on the employment stress of nursing college students. The subjects were 194 students from four colleges of nursing in P-province in Korea. Data were collected from self-administered questionnaires, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's and Spearman's correlation coefficients. Multiple regression with dummy variables was used for statistical analysis of the data. The results revealed the following scores: self-esteem 3.40±0.53, appearance satisfaction 2.96±0.56, satisfaction with the major 3.80±0.61, and employment stress 2.23±0.75. Significant differences in employment stress according to general characteristics of subjects were observed in gender (t=7.40, p=.007), entering nursing college motivation (F=3.24, p=.023), and college life satisfaction (F=16.722, p<.001). Employment stress showed a negative correlation with self-esteem (r=-.433, p<.001), appearance satisfaction (r=-.307, p<.001), and satisfaction in major (r=-.534, p<.001). The satisfaction with the major (β=-.371, p<.001), self-esteem (β=-.166, p=.026), appearance satisfaction (β=-.132, p=.045), entering nursing college motivation (β=.163, p=.006), and gender (β=.131, p=.033) confirmed as a factors affecting the employment stress and accounted for 35.6% of the variance. Based on the results, it is necessary to develop employment-competency reinforcement programs to increase the level of satisfaction in the major, appearance satisfaction, and self-esteem to reduce the employment stress of nursing college students.