Impacts of Coping Mechanisms on Nursing Students’ Mental Health during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Cross-Sectional Survey

• Published in: Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 36 - 44
• Main Authors: Kim, Son Chae, Sloan, Christine, Montejano, Anna, Quiban, Carlota
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 12.01.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Anxiety; Anxiety disorders; College students; Colleges & universities; Coping; coping mechanism; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Cross-sectional studies; depression; Disease transmission; Likert scale; Mental depression; Mental health; Nursing education; Pandemics; Participation; Quarantine; Questionnaires; resilience; Resilience (Psychology); Respiratory diseases; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Shelter in place; Stress; United States > US; COVID-19; anxiety; stress; family functioning; coping mechanism; depression; spirituality; resilience
• ISSN: 2039-4403; 2039-439X; 2039-4403
• DOI: 10.3390/nursrep11010004

The COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdown have precipitated significant disruption in the educational system. Nursing students are known to have higher levels of stress and anxiety than other non-nursing students, but there is a dearth of evidence regarding the impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown on their mental health and coping mechanisms. Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the influence of coping mechanisms as predictors of stress, anxiety, and depression among nursing students during the COVID-19 lockdown. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted from 20 April to 10 May 2020 among 173 nursing students at a private university in Southern California, USA. Results: Self-reported stress, anxiety, and depression were significantly higher during the lockdown compared to the pre-lockdown period (p < 0.001). Almost a quarter of participants reported high stress, while more than half reported moderate-to-severe symptoms of anxiety and depression. High resilience was negatively associated with high stress (Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.46; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 0.22–0.98; p = 0.045), moderate-to-severe anxiety (OR = 0.47; 95%CI = 0.25–0.90; p = 0.022), and moderate-to-severe depression (OR = 0.50; 95%CI = 0.26–0.95; p = 0.036). Similarly, high family functioning was negatively associated with high stress (OR = 0.41; 95%CI = 0.20–0.86; p = 0.018), moderate-to-severe anxiety (OR = 0.41; 95%CI = 0.21–0.80; p = 0.009), and moderate-to-severe depression (OR = 0.41; 95%CI = 0.20–0.81; p = 0.011). High spiritual support was negatively associated with moderate-to-severe depression (OR = 0.48; 95%CI = 0.24–0.95; p = 0.035). Conclusions: During the COVID-19 lockdown, nursing students experienced remarkable levels of poor mental health. High levels of resilience and family functioning were associated with 2- to 2.4-fold lower risk of stress, anxiety, and depression, whereas high spiritual support was associated with 2-fold lower risk of depression. As the pandemic evolves, fostering these coping mechanisms may help students to maintain their psychological wellbeing.