Resilience and well-being of university nursing students in Hong Kong: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundUniversity nursing students experience higher levels of academic stress than those of other disciplines. Academic stress leads to psychological distress and has detrimental effects on well-being. The ability to overcome such adversity and learn to be stronger from the experience is regarded as resilience. Resilience is found to have an impact on learning experience, academic performance, course completion and, in the longer term, professional practice. Resilience and positive coping strategies can resist stress and improve personal well-being. However, the relationship between resilience and well-being remains unexplored in nursing students, which are significant attributes to their academic success and future career persistence.MethodsThe study was a cross-sectional descriptive correlational design. Inclusion criteria for recruitment was students studying pre-registration nursing programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) and World Health Organisation-5 Well-Being Index (WHO-5) were used to measure resilience and psychological well-being respectively.ResultsA convenience sample of 678 university nursing students was recruited from a university. The mean score of CD-RISC-10 was 24.0. When comparing the resilience levels of undergraduate and postgraduate students, the total scores were found to be 23.8 and 24.9 respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups (p = .020). With regard to perceived well-being, the mean score of WHO-5 was 15.5. There was no significant difference between undergraduates and postgraduates (p = .131). Bivariate analysis showed that self-reported resilience had a medium, positive correlation with perceived well-being (r = .378, p = .000), and senior students had significantly higher level of perceived well-being than junior students (16.0 vs 15.1, p = .003). Multivariable regression analysis on perceived well-being indicated that self-reported resilience emerged as a significant predictor of perceived well-being (regression coefficient B = 0.259; p < .001).ConclusionsThe results demonstrate that nursing students with a high level of resilience have better perceived well-being, and the level of resilience of postgraduates was significantly higher than that of undergraduates. Therefore, educational strategies should be developed in the nursing curriculum and a supportive learning environment should be created to foster resilience in the students.

Psychological resilience in New Zealand registered nurses: The role of workplace characteristics

“…The resilience score in our study, 29.71, was higher than most other studies which involved a nursing population and used the CD‐RISC‐10. Chow et al () reported a resilience score of 24.0 with Hong Kong university nursing students. Ang et al () found a resilience score of 25.9 in their study with Singapore nurses.…”

“…Items were measured on a Likert scale: “not true at all,” “rarely true,” “sometimes true,” “often true” and “true nearly all the time.” Respondents were asked how much they agreed with each item (e.g., “I can deal with whatever comes my way”) as it applied over the last month. The CD‐RISC‐10 has been used among nursing students in Nigeria (Aloba, Olabisi, & Aloba, ) and Hong Kong (Chow et al, ) and with practising nurses in Singapore (Ang et al, ). CD‐RISC‐10 scores range from 0 to 40 (higher scores indicating elevated resilience).…”

The Influence of Resilience on Psychological Well-Being of Malaysian University Undergraduates

“…This perspective defined the concept of psychological well-being (PWB), which is the focus in this study. Most of the previous studies about these two constructs have focused much on medical (Bigdeli, Najafy & Rostami, 2013;Souri & Hasanirad, 2011) and nursing (Abiola, Olorukooba & Afolayan, 2017;Chow et al, 2018;Jin & Kim, 2017) students, based on the assumption that these groups are faced with more challenges. All of these studies found that resilience has a moderate to strong and positive relationship with PWB.…”

Relationship between depression, anxiety, cognitive distortions, and psychological well‐being among nursing students

“…According to He et al, in coping with these stressors, the predictors of psychological well‐being among undergraduate nursing students include internal factors such as self‐efficacy, resilience, and mindfulness, as well as external factors such as social support. Some studies focusing on psychological well‐being have reported that well‐being is associated with resilience, self‐esteem, behavioral and affect‐focused strategies, family cohesion and social support …”

“…Some studies focusing on psychological well-being have reported that well-being is associated with resilience, self-esteem, behavioral and affect-focused strategies, family cohesion and social support. [9][10][11] Ratanasiripong and Wang, 7 in their study assessed students' wellbeing using the Rosenberg self-esteem scale, the Center for Epidemiology Studies-Depression Scale Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale. They found that compared with students who were recruited from a comprehensive college with degree programs in education, arts, sciences, technology, and management, nursing students had higher levels of self-esteem and life satisfaction and that they reported lower levels of depression and social difficulties.…”