AL-barrak 2008

Sources of stress as perceived by nursing student at King Saud University AL-Riyadh

Thesis Proposal Submitted by Mofida Younis AL-barrak In Partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Masters Degree of Psychiatric Health Nursing, College of Nursing, King Saud University, Riyadh, 1429H 2008 G

AL-barrak 2008

Name of researcher Mofida Younis AL-barrak Clinical Instructor, Health Science College for female, Riyadh King Saud University, Riyadh, Program of study: Psychiatric & Mental Health Nursing Thesis supervisors: Professor Dr. Elham M. Abdul Elkader Fayad Professor Mental Health Nursing Department. College of Nursing King Saud University, Riyadh Dr. Mona Talat EL-nady (Co-worker) Assistant professor Mental Health Nursing Department. College of Nursing King Saud University, Riyadh,

AL-barrak 2008

Introduction Stress has been identified as a 20th century disorder and has been viewed as a dynamic transaction between individuals and their environment. Stress can be regarded as a psychological threat, in which the individual perceives a situation as a potential threat (Evans, and Kelly, 2004). Moderate amounts of stress help to motivate students and, at times, increase their performance, while too high levels of stress interferes with academic performance. Thus an important factor to be considered when studying stress is to explore which sources of stress are motivating and beneficial, and which sources of stress are detrimental. The outcome of stress may be dependent up on its source and its severity (Shields, 2001 & Smith 2007). Excessive stress can be harmful to a student's academic performance and students who perceive their stress levels as very high may often become depressed. This depression can lead to mental health problems, such as excessive corrupted interpersonal relationships (Frassrand 2005).

Academic stress among college students has been a topic of interest for many years. College students, are prone to stress due to the transitional nature of college life For example, many college students move away from home for the first time, which can necessitate leaving all previously learned support systems such as parents, siblings and high school friends (McEwen 2002&Clarke 2008).

Stress among nursing students has been well documented; a study by Trockel, (2000) found that nursing students suffer from long hours of study, multiple assignments, lack of free time, lack of timely feedback and lack of faculty response to student needs. (Beck 1999 & Trockel 2000). Potential stressors among nursing students have received much attention in the literature. Nursing students have the same academic stressors as other college students, such as midterm and final examinations, research papers and other assignments. In addition, nursing students experience a clinical component, which is highly stressful. Students have a large amount of preparatory work before their clinical assignments. They often must travel long
3

AL-barrak 2008

distances to clinical sites and use highly technical equipment. Furthermore, they must perform procedures that can cause serious harm to their patients, thus enhancing their fear of making mistakes. Studies indicate that nursing students may be more prone to stress than other students. (Wong 2002&Walton 2002) However the dynamic relationship between the person and environment in stress perception and reaction is especially magnified in college students. The problems and situations encountered by college students may differ from those faced by their nonstudent peers (Nicholl, Timmins 2005). The environment in which college students live is quite different, while jobs outside of the university setting involve their own sources of stress, such as evaluation by superiors and striving for goals. The continuous evaluation that college students are subjected to, such as weekly tests and papers, more which is not often seen by non-students (Gonzalez, Greenwood, and Wenhsu, 2001). The pressure to earn good grades and to earn a degree is very high. In addition to academic requirements, relations with faculty members and time pressures may also be sources of stress (Misra, R., McKean, West, and Russo, 2000). In addition, relationships with family, friends, eating, sleeping habits, and loneliness may affect students adversely (Patton and Goldenberg, 1999 &Ross 1999). Top five major sources of stress were detected among nursing college students: change in sleeping habits, vacations, breaks, and change in eating habits, increased work load, and new responsibilities. Furthermore, stress may result from being separated from home for the first time, the transition from a personal to an impersonal academic environment, and the structure of the academic experience at the college level. (Seyed Flami and Tafreshi 2007) Many undergraduate nursing students undergo considerable stress, thus many national & international researches were approached in this filed. At Saud University, Nursing College, no researches were done in this respect, so depth researches are needed to clarify the magnitude of the
4

AL-barrak 2008

problem & to emphasize whether these stressors are mostly related to daily hassles, major live events or academic & teaching style problems. Hence the purpose of this study is to study sources of stress perceived as prevalent by nursing college students, Saud University and to examine the nature of these stressors. Aim: Aim of the study is to evaluate sources of stress as perceived by nursing students at King Saud University.

Objectives of this study are to: 1- Assess sources of stress as perceived nursing students at King Saud University 2- Predict the major source of stress among nursing students at King Saud University. 3- Investigate the greatest stressors in deferent levels.

Operational definition Stress a physical, mental, or emotional reaction resulting from an individuals response to interpersonal, intrapersonal, academic & environmental hazards.

AL-barrak 2008

Study design Setting The study will be carried out at College of Nursing, King Saud University, AL-Riyadh, city, KSA. Subjects Student nursing, King Saud University at all levels, with the following criteria: accepted to participate in the study, females, and their ages ranged from 16- 26 years Tool for the data collection:A structured interview questionnaire will be developed by the researcher to collect data about the study sample. It will include two parts as the followings: Part 1 1- Socio demographic data for both students itself and their parents include; age, academic level, interest in nursing, place of residence; living with family, or student hostel etc) 2- Student nurses hoppies, general interests, hostel etc.. Part 2 After reviewing related literature, the Student Stress Survey Sheet (SSSS) is used to study the major sources of stress among college students, it include; items of the survey sheet will address to interpersonal, intrapersonal, academic, and environmental sources of stress.

AL-barrak 2008

Work plan 1. An official permission will be obtained from the director of College of Nursing, King Saud University, Riyadh. 2. Study tool will be developed, structures based on literature review

3. The study tool will be revised for face validity and reliability by specialists in the field of study. 4. A pilot study will be conducted on a group of sample to verify the clarity of the tool, and visibility of the data collection 5. The actual study will be conducted after modification related to research structure.

6. The aim of the study will be explained for each participant prior to data collection. 7. Data will be tabulated analyzed and statistical significant test will be done.

8. Discussion of the obtained results of the study will be addressed according to the study results and related to current literature.

AL-barrak 2008

References
1. Beck D. & Srivastava R. Perceived level and sources of stress in baccalaureate nursing students, Journal of Nursing Education. 1991; 30(3):127-33.

2. Clarke V. & Ruffin C. Perceived sources of stress among student nurses, Advances in Contemporary Nurse Education , 2008; 32(1):12-16. 3. Evans W & Kelly B: Pre-registration diploma student nurse stress and coping measures. Nurse Education Today 2004; 24(6):473-482. 4. Frassrand S. A comparative analysis of stress levels in undergraduate university students, published thesis, University of Tennessee at chaltanooga, school of nursing. 2005.

5. Gonzalez A., Greenwood G. & Wenhsu J. Undergraduate students goal orientations and their relationship to perceived parenting styles. College Student Journal, 2001; 35: 182 193.

6. McEwen M. & Wills E. Theoretical basis for nursing. New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2002. 7. Misra, R. & McKean, M. College student's academic stress and its relation to their anxiety, time management and leisure satisfaction. American Journal of Health Studies, 2000, 16(1), 41-52. 8. Misra R., McKean M., West S. & Russo T. Academic stress of college students: Comparison of student and faculty perceptions. College Student Journal, 2000; 34(2): 236-246. 9. Nicholl H. & Timmins F: Programmed-related stressors among part-time undergraduate nursing students. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2005; 50 (1):93-100. 10. Patton T. & Goldenberg D. Hardiness and anxiety as predictors of academic success in first-year, full-time and part-time RN students. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 1999; 30(4): 158-164.

AL-barrak 2008

11. Walton R. A Comparison of Perceived Stress Levels and Coping Styles of Junior and Senior Students in Nursing and Social Work Programs. In Doctor of Education Dissertation College of Graduate Studies, Marshall University, 2002. 12. Ross S., Niebling B. & Heckert T. Sources of stress among college students. College Student Journal 1999; 33(2):312-317. 13. Seyed F. &Tafreshi M. Experienced stressors and coping strategies among Iranian nursing Students. Bio Med Central. 2007; 13 (11):1-10. 14. Shields N. Stress, active coping, and academic performance among persisting & nonpersisting students. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research 2002; 6(2):65-81. 15. Smith T. & Renk K. Predictors of Academic-Related Stress in College Students: An Examination of Coping, Social Support, Parenting, and Anxiety, NASPA Journal, 2007; 44 (3):22-27. 16. Trockel M., Barnes M. & Egget D. Health-related variables and academic performance among first-year college students: Implications for sleep and other behaviors. Journal of American College Health, 2000; 49(3): 125-132. 17. Wong D., Perry S. & Hockenberry M. Maternal Child Nursing Care, (2nd ed.), St. Louis: Mosby, 2002.