The Perceived Nursing Students’ Psychological Health Issues of Depression and Academic Stressors

Abstract Background Depression has been found in the literature as the most common health issue that confronts students during their education. The academic demands and pressure put nursing students at increasing risk of depression. Nursing students are the future of nursing workforce, while nursing education is the vital place to mitigate the impact of psychological health and factors that influence nursing students’ academic performance. Aims To (1) Examine the perceived level of depression and academic stress; (2) Determine differences in mean scores between groups of demographic variables on depression; and (3) Examine the association between depression and academic stress among nursing students in Saudi Arabia. Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlation study. Method An online self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data by using the depression subscale from DASS-21 to measure depression and Academic Stress Inventory (ASI) scale to measure academic stress. Results A total of 237 undergraduate students participated in the study. Nursing students perceived mild level of depression and moderate level of overall academic stress. Students perceived moderate levels in all ASI subscales, except time management and test stress were high. Demographics showed significant differences in the means of depressive symptoms, except GPA, place of residence, and chronic illnesses. The overall ASI scale and subscales showed statistically significant correlations with depression. The strongest correlation was between studying in group stress subscale and depression, yet the least correlation was between result stress subscale and depression. Conclusion Nursing students need support especially during their first year of education. Counseling sessions, continues observation, and follow-up with the intervention programs must be implemented carefully to alleviate students’ stress and control their depression.