Nursing education stress and coping behaviors in Turkish and the United States nursing students: A descriptive study

Aim: The aim of the present study was to compare nursing education stress and coping behaviors of nursing students in two different countries. Background: Nursing students face with stress factors affecting academic performance during nursing education. Coping strategies can help students manage their stress levels. Design: This study was performed with a descriptive design at the nursing department of two universities in Turkey and the United States. Methods: The sample consisted of 986 students in total (807 students from Turkey and 179 students from the United States). Data were collected by a questionnaire, using the Nursing Education Stress Scale and the Coping Behavior Inventory. Results: The mean score of Turkish students on the Nursing Education Stress Scale was (68.34 +/- 16.57) significantly higher than the United States students (50.91 +/- 15.53) (p < 0.05). The mean scores of the sub-groups regarding avoidance, problem solving and transference behaviors of the Coping Behavior Inventory of the Turkish students were significantly higher than that of the United States students (p < 0.05); whereas the mean score of the optimistic coping behavior sub-group of the scale of the Turkish students' was lower (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study revealed that the nursing students from different countries had different stress levels in nursing education. The most used coping strategy by the nursing students from two countries was avoidance behaviors. Educational programs should be organized to strengthen students' stress coping skills and to use effective coping strategies.