The relationship between psychological resilience, perceived stress, and anxiety levels of nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic process

INTRODUCTION: This study was conducted to determine the psychological resilience, perceived stress, and anxiety levels of nursing students during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and to examine the relationships between these concepts.
METHODS: A total of 315 students studying in the nursing department of the Faculty of Health Sciences participated in this descriptive and correlational study. The data were evaluated using an introductory information form, the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale. Frequency, percentage, t-test, analysis of variance, correlation analysis, and clustering analysis were used to analyze the data.
RESULTS: Nursing students’ BRS (X±SD=3.10±0.88), PSS (2.99±0.62), and GAD-7 (1.07±0.78) scores were intermediate. Negative and strong (r=−0.624), positive and strong (r=0.605), and negative and moderate (r=−0.530) correlations were found between psychological resilience and perceived stress, perceived stress and anxiety, and psychological resilience and anxiety, respectively. Additionally, BRS, PSS, and GAD-7 scores differed remarkably according to students’ individual characteristics. The students were divided into four groups in terms of the BRS, PSS, and GAD-7: feeble, frontier, passable, and sturdy.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The results of the study showed that nursing students, especially in the feeble and frontier groups, were at risk of psychological resilience, perceived stress, and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic process. Empowerment programs should be prepared to support and encourage nursing students during this challenging period, and longitudinal studies should be planned with larger sample groups.