Depression, Anxiety and Stress among Nursing Students in Selected Colleges of Eastern India: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

Background: Nursing students after enrolling themselves into nursing profession experiences high level of stress and anxiety which later shows signs and symptoms of depression at early age. The present study is undertaken to study the level of stress, anxiety and depression among undergraduate nurses. The objective of the study was to assess the level of stress, anxiety and depression among nursing undergraduates.Methods: A total of 201 sample were selected using non probability sampling technique. The three domains of mental status was assessed using depression, anxiety and stress scale-21 (DASS-21).Findings & Conclusion: Majority of the nursing students showed 60.2% of mild anxiety followed by milddepression (57.7%) and mild stress (55.2%). The present study revealed significant presence of anxiety, stress and depression among the nursing undergraduates. These findings are alarming in nature as it may have negative impacts on the mental health of the students. Stress, anxiety and depression among nursing students will adversly affect the academic performance and the quality of care they give to their patients. Students must be made aware to employ different coping strategies, different communication skills, campus connectdness, to deal with the stress,anxiety and depression during their clinical training. Mental health screening is another important preventive strategies to avoid mental disorders.