Relationship between stress, depression, anxiety and suicide ideation in nursing students: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Nursing students experience anxiety and stress that may be related to suicidal thoughts. The main of this study was to determine the relationship between stress, depression, anxiety and suicide ideation in nursing students. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study 342 undergraduate nursing students of the Hamadan University of Medical Sciences of Iran were selected with censer sampling. The data collection tool was a Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 Item (DASS-21) and Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS). The data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation and multiple regression analysis. Data were analyzed using the SPSS v. 18. RESULTS: Overall, 9.1% of the students were considered to present suicide ideation and 13.4% depression, 20.5% anxiety and 7% tress. Linear regression analysis confirmed that depression is significant predictors of suicidal ideation. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that interventions to prevent suicidal ideation among nursing students should include strategies to assess mental health and to improve positive coping strategies in managing distress to reduce depression and suicidal ideation.