AWARENESS OF STRESS IN YOUNG ADULTS: RESOURCE AWARENESS AND UTILIZATION

This doctor of nursing practice project was a comparative exploratory study of nursing students enrolled in three baccalaureate nursing programs (Accelerated BSN, RN to BSN, and collaborative ADN to BSN) at a public university in greater Los Angeles. The three major goals of this study were to: (a) identify perceived stressors of nursing students causing common health problems; (b) determine the extent to which nursing students were aware of available resources; and (c) determine the extent to which nursing students use available resources; another aim was to determine whether differences existed according to the students’ baccalaureate program. Participants (n = 110) completed the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale and surveys focused on common health problems, along with awareness and use of university resources. In this sample of predominately female students, the only Perceived Stress Scale item that students -on average- reported that they experienced “often” was “Felt nervous and stressed.” Four health problems were reported as occurring “often” by the group (on average): exhaustion/fatigue, anxiety, sleep difficulty, and headache. Students with higher perceived stress scores had higher numbers of total health problem (rs = .63, p < .001). Of the 26 university resources, students were most likely to be aware of University Financial Aid and the Student Health Center (90+%) and least likely to be aware of psychosocial care, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and data entry/analysis iv assistance. Reported utilization was highest for these same resources: financial aid (42.7%), health center (37.3%). Comparisons across students in the three programs showed that the Accelerated BSN students demonstrated significantly less perceived stress and fewer health problems than did the RN to BSN students. The Accelerated students were also significantly more aware of university resources aimed at physical health and psychosocial health than students in the other two baccalaureate programs. Findings from this study, framed in the PRECEDE-PROCEED model, support the premise that higher levels of stress are associated with health problems and that nursing students are using resources appropriately for the stressors they encounter. Prospective research is needed with a larger samples of students across multiple university campuses to further delineate associations among stress, health, and personal actions.