Depression and anxiety among nursing students in Greece

Background

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of depression and anxiety and the association between depression, anxiety and psychiatric symptoms among nursing students in Greece.

Materials and methods

A total of 170 students (first year 48, second 45, third 38 and fourth 39) agreed to participate in the study. Students completed the Greek versions of three instruments: the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).

Results

Majority of the students (71.8%) perceived stress, most of them in mild levels (31.8%). About 12,4% reported very high levels of stress. The mean scores of state anxiety were 41, 45, 37.5 and 41, of trait anxiety 40.5, 41, 44, 42 and of depression 12, 13, 13, 9 for the four years respectively. Depressive symptoms were reported by 52,4% of the sample and high depressive symptoms by 4,7%. The average GHQ score was 5, 6, 5 and 4. The factor analysis of GHQ showed that “severe depression” and “somatic symptoms” were the primary and secondary factor causing stress. A positive relationship between anxiety, depression and mental stress was found.

Conclusions

It is usually observed that students undergo tremendous stress during various stages of their course. In our sample, year 2 and 3 nursing students indicated experiencing the highest degree of pressure from studies but the levels of anxiety and depression were not significantly different among the four years. Additional studies are needed to improve our understanding of the causes and consequences of nursing student stress.