Comparison with the State Level As Well As the Relationship of Stress, Resilience and Psychological Health Between U.K. and China: A Newest Cross-Sectional Global Study in Undergraduate Nursing Students

Purpose: To explore the state level as well as the relationship of stress, resilience, and psychological health in nursing students between UK and China, with the purpose of searching for a strategy to forming an effective way to ease stress and psychological distress in nursing education program and make more healthy for this participates.

Background: Stress and psychological distress in student nurses has been widely demonstrated and present globalization trend including UK and China. Resilience has been described as a personal resource that can influence an individual’s ability to cope with the negative effects of stress for their better life adaptation and health. To date, little research has been done to examine the relationship of both stress and psychological health with resilience in these population, especially combined with UK and China.   

Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study.

Methods: To collect the data, Resilience Scale, Stress in nursing students Scale and General Health Questionnaire-12 were used.1538 Chinese nursing students were investigated for making assessment for multiple dimensions of Resilience, Stress and Psychological Health. Descriptive statistic analysis, correlation analysis as well as stepwise multiple regression analysis were examined on matching pairs of data. Convenient sampling method were used for this study. Then the result was been compared with the UK study for the state level of the same undergraduate nursing students measured by the same Stress in nursing students Scale and General Health Questionnaire-12. Data were analyzed by SPSS18.0.

Results:  The mean score of resilience was 121.84 (SD=21.30). A comparison of the scores for the dimensions of the SINS showed a relative difference in terms of mean scores and in descending order. The sample ranked themselves as “clinical” (M=31.12, SD=8.18), “fininance” (M=17.35, SD=5.48), “confidence” (M=17.14, SD=5.15), “education” (M=14.43, SD=4.06). The mean score of psychological health was 6.20 (SD=1.83). Resilience was found to be related significantly with stress and psychological health with the correlation coefficient is -0.195 and 0.064 respectively. Besides, four sub-scale of resilience are also highly correlated to stress and psychological health except meaningfulness in these participants. Compared with UK, the state level of Stress and Psychological Health of Chinese nursing students was in the same high level.

Conclusion: This study illustrated that resilience was a stronger predictor of stress and psychological health including in China and UK. Future research will be carried out to implement the strategies or interventions including conducting nursing education programs and competencies in enhancing resilience in global nursing research.