Relationship between Self-Esteem and Stress Coping Strategies among Internship Nursing Students

BACKGROUND: Self-esteem is an essential personality trait in nursing professionals and nursing students need to have a high self-esteem and effective coping strategies to be successful in their future career. AIM: This study aimed to assess the relationship between the level of self-esteem and the stress coping strategies, used by internship nursing students (intern-nurses), at the completion of their internship training. METHODS: A descriptive correlational cross-sectional design was used to measure self-esteem and identify the stress coping strategies of intern-nurses at Alexandria University. Data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire, including the Rosenberg self-esteem scale and the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (Brief COPE). The questionnaire was distributed to all intern-nurses (273 intern-nurses) during their last rotation in the internship training. In total, 150 completed the survey, resulting in 54.9% response rate. SPSS software was used for the analysis. RESULTS: In total, 150 intern-nurses participated in the study. The majority of the sample had a moderate to high self-esteem, and the mean total self-esteem was 29.21/40 ± 4.44. The most frequently used coping strategy was problem-solving, followed by social support, positive thinking, and lastly an avoidance coping strategy. There was a positive correlation between self-esteem with both the problem-solving and social support coping strategies. However, there was a negative correlation between the self-esteem score and the avoidance coping strategy. CONCLUSION: The majority of the sample had a moderate to high self-esteem and they use problem-solving and social support coping strategies to manage stress. Intern-nurses with a high self-esteem cope positively and effectively with stress. Conversely, intern-nurses with a low self-esteem cope negatively with stress. Counseling and stress intervention programs are essential to promote nursing students self-esteem and assist them to develop positive and active stress coping strategies.