Nursing, nursing education, and anxiety.

Abstract

One hundred seventy-one graduating students in associate degree, diploma, and baccalaureate nursing programs completed a questionnaire concerning various state and trait measures of emotions (including general anxiety, apprehension about communication, and anxiety about one's future nursing career). Differences among the three groups of nursing students on the various dimensions of emotions, anxiety, and communication apprehension were assessed from the perspective of Mehrabian's theory of emotion. Predictors of anxiety about one's nursing career were investigated for the overall sample and for the three groups separately. Findings indicate that baccalaureate students are least apprehensive about communicating and feel most dominant in their setting. In addition, associate degree students were most anxious about nursing if they did not feel dominant, diploma students were most anxious if they did not feel dominant or were apprehensive about communication, and baccalaureate students were most anxious if they were generally unhappy. The results are discussed in terms of Mehrabian's emotion theory, the current crisis in and future direction of nursing education, and the use of theory in designing a strategy for nursing as a profession.