Three-year following-up investigation on mental health status of undergraduate nursing students

Abstract

Objective To explore the dynamic changes of mental health of undergraduate nursing students and provide scientific basis for mental health education. Methods A total of 60 undergraduate nursing students in Gracd 2012 one school were received following-up investigation for four times in three years with symptom checklist 90 (SCL-90). Results The scores of obsessive, anxiety and psychotic factors were higher in the freshmen than those in Chinese youth norm (P 0.05). In addition, the scores of some factors increased at the beginning of the second grade, especially interpersonal sensitivity (P<0.05), then began to decline. Conclusions The mental health status of nursing freshmen is not optimistic, and we should strengthen mental health education to improve their psychological quality. Although their mental health status becomes better one year later, they are still confronted with difficulties in interpersonal skills. Key words: Nursing students; Mental health; Dynamic changes