Stress Level and Eating Attitudes of Nursing Students: Basis on Developing Stress Management Program

Students in modern technology experience stress in their lives and this is caused by different factors such as academics. Stressors have impacts on students’ health which include affecting their eating attitudes. Some people overeat when stressed, while others lose control of their appetite. This study aimed to measure the relationship between stress levels and eating attitudes of 3rd and 4th year nursing students of First City Providential College. The study employed a descriptive research design and utilized a judgment sampling technique wherein the participants were selected based on the determined criteria. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) by Cohen (1994) was used to measure stress levels and EAT-26 test by Garner et al. (1982) was adapted to determine the eating attitude of the students. In addition, Pearson’s r was utilized to assess the degree of relationship between stress level and eating attitude together with the P value to determine the significant relationship between stress level and eating attitude of the respondents. Based on the results of the degree and significant relationship between stress level and eating attitude of 3rd and 4th year nursing students, it was revealed that there was a very low positive degree and no significant relationship. But according to the results of the moderate stress level of the students, a stress management program was developed to manage the stress level of the students.