The Impact of Nursing Students’ Resilience on Their Fear and Stress Levels During Clinical Practice in the Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing Course: A Cross-sectional, Descriptive and Correlational Study

Abstract

Objective: There is no study on how students’ resilience levels affect their fear and stress levels regarding the Mental Health and Diseases Nursing (MHDN) course’s clinical practice. This study aims to examine the effect of resilience levels of nursing students on their fear and stress levels regarding the MHDN course’s clinical practice. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational study was conducted between October 2023 and June 2024 with 262 students studying at the Department of Nursing of a foundation university in İstanbul, Türkiye. Data were collected using the Personal Information Form, Brief Resilience Scale, and Perceived Stress Scale. Fear levels were measured using a visual analog scale. Results: Resilience was negatively and weakly correlated with both fear and perceived stress. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that resilience and place of residence were significant predictors of fear, explaining 5% of the variance (F = 8.179, P < .001, adjusted R2 = 0.052). Higher resilience was associated with lower fear levels (P < .001), while residing in a dormitory was associated with higher fear levels (β = 0.608, P = .050). For perceived stress, gender and having a mental illness emerged as significant predictors, accounting for 4% of the variance (F = 7.191, P = .001, adjusted R2 = 0.045). Female students and those with a mental illness reported higher perceived stress levels (P < .05). Conclusion: Lower resilience was associated with higher fear and perceived stress among nursing students. Dormitory residence and lower resilience predicted fear, while female gender and mental illness predicted perceived stress, supporting the integration of resilience-enhancing strategies into nursing education.