Psychological distress and coping styles among baccalaureate nursing students: Promoting mental health of future nurses in COVID-19 pandemic

Coronavirus disease (COVID‑19) causes significant psychological distress among nursing students. College‑bound nursing students might have preferred different types of coping strategies to deal with psychological distress. This study aims to measure the psychological distress and role of coping styles to mediate the stress level among the baccalaureate nursing students amid the COVID‑19 pandemic.

A cross‑sectional online survey was conducted in December 2020 at a nursing college attached to a tertiary care teaching hospital, North India. Nearly 251 baccalaureate nursing students completed the Impact of Event Scale‑Revised (IES‑R) and Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief‑COPE) scale to report their psychological distress and coping styles, respectively. Chi‑square test, independent sample t‑test followed by binary and multivariable regression were used to identify the factors associated with distress in students during the pandemic.

Students’ mean age was 22.22 ± 1.24 years. The mean IES‑R was 19.59 ± 12.45 in nursing students. Psychological distress found a significant association with age (P = 0.022), academic class (P = 0.016), travel history (P = 0.034), and being positive reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT‑PCR) for COVID‑19 status of self (P = 0.018) and family members in the medical profession (P = 0.013). In binary logistic regression, stress level found a significant association with first‑year academic level (OR: 3.250, 95% CI: 1.429–7.390, P = 0.005) and family members in the medical profession (OR: 4.44, 95% CI: 1.019–19.382, P = 0.047). Adaptive coping styles were more frequently preferred than maladaptive coping styles (54% vs 41%). Adaptive (r = 0.295, P < 0.001) and maladaptive coping (r = 0.403, P < 0.001) shows a significant positive relationship with stress in students, respectively.

Coronavirus pandemic causes significant distress among nursing students. Students were able to manage stress using acceptance and religious/spiritual coping strategies. During the pandemic, stress management to support mental health is highly recommended.