A Correlational Study to Assess the Level of Academic Stress and Level of Mental Health Among Nursing Students in a Selected College Mangalore

Abstract

Background: Nursing students frequently struggle with academic stress as a result of their heavy workloads, clinical rotations, and exams. Overstress may have a detrimental effect on their general wellbeing and mental health. Developing effective support solutions for nursing students requires an understanding of the connection between academic stress and mental health. Objectives: To determine how stressed-out nursing students are about their studies. To evaluate nursing students' mental health. to ascertain the relationship between nursing students' mental health and academic stress. To determine whether certain demographic factors and academic stress are related. To determine whether certain demographic factors and mental health are related. Methods: The study used a non-experimental descriptive correlational design and a quantitative research methodology. The study was carried out at Valachil, Mangalore, at Srinivas College of Nursing. Using a non-probability stratified sampling technique, 100 nursing students between the ages of 19 and 22 were chosen. A demographic proforma and self-administered Likert scales were used to gather data in order to evaluate mental health and academic stress. The data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, such as Karl Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: According to the results, 54% of the students indicated light academic stress, 38% reported moderate stress, and 2% expressed significant academic stress. In terms of mental health, 94% of the students had average mental health, 5% had good mental health, and 1% had bad mental health. Exam stress had the highest mean percentage (67.2%) among academic stress domains, whereas social support had the highest mean percentage (68.8%) among mental health domains, according to area-wise analysis. Higher academic stress is linked to worse mental health, according to a substantial negative association between academic stress and mental health (r = -0.621). There were also notable correlations found between academic stress and age, as well as between year of study and mental health. Conclusion: The study comes to the conclusion that nursing students' mental health and academic stress are significantly correlated negatively. Students' mental health and academic performance may improve if stress management programs and psychological support services are implemented in nursing schools.