Stress and depression in undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Nursing students compared to undergraduate students in non-nursing majors.

Abstract

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already alarming mental health crisis on college campuses. Nursing students were uniquely impacted through the loss of clinical practicum experiences.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore relationships between student perceptions of life-stress and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in nursing students compared to students in other academic disciplines. A secondary purpose of this study was to understand nursing student perceptions of how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their educational experience.MethodsSchool-related life stress and depression measures were studied in a cross-section of 2326 undergraduate students using an anonymous online survey. Follow-up qualitative data were collected (N = 12) to further explore relationships between school-related life stress and depression in nursing students.ResultsNursing students had higher levels of student-life stress but fewer depressive symptoms than students in any other academic major. Students related that social support and belongingness were critical to their academic perseverance.ConclusionsDifferences between nursing and non-nursing students are likely due to a multifactorial combination of social support, resilience, and posttraumatic growth.