Abstract
Background: To combat the nursing shortage, universities focus on retention of nursing students; however, more than one-third of U.S. nursing programs report less than a 70% graduation rate.1 Nursing students encounter many barriers, and these socially imposed forces can impact academic progress. The Social Determinants of Learning (SDOL™) contains six domains that play a role in achieving learning effectiveness and includes psychosocial factors (stress and resilience) and social support.2 In nursing students, social support is positively associated with resilience3 and negatively associated with stress.4 In pre-nursing students who have not begun formal nursing education training or clinical courses, stress is negatively associated with resilience and persistence.5 Understanding the relationships between social support, stress, and resilience, will provide new insights into pre-nursing student well-being, success, and retention.
Purpose: The study's aim was to describe the relationships among perceived social support, stress, and resilience levels in on-campus and online pre-nursing students taking an introduction to nursing course.
Methods: This IRB-approved study used a survey-based cross-sectional design with convenience sampling. Pre-nursing students preparing to apply to a large public prelicensure nursing program in the southwestern United States were invited to participate during the fall of 2024.
Results: Participants (n=319) were female (88.1%), ethnically diverse (Hispanic 31.0%, Black 22.6%, Asian 22.3%, White 21.3%) an average age of 23.3 years old. Most were first-generation students (52.4%) and worked 17+ hours weekly (48.5%). Relationships among social support, stress, and resilience were statistically significant, and perceived support from friends was negatively associated with stress and positively associated with resilience.
Implications: Many academic resources are available to help nursing students succeed, but non-academic resources are lacking. Focusing on two of the SDOL domains in pre-nursing students can inform educators on how to tailor early interventions that concentrate on managing stress, increasing resilience, and increasing social support. Insight into the well-being of nursing students will guide the creation of course-specific content that promotes knowledge and skills to provide a foundation for future nursing student success, promoting retention, and taking those tools into their future nursing careers.
Notes
References:
1. Spector N, Silvestre J, McIntosh Q, Kaminski-Ozturk N. National Nursing Education Annual Report: 2020–2021 Aggregate Data. Published October 28, 2022. https://www.ncsbn.org/public-files/AnnualProgramReport-AggregateData-2022.pdf
2. Sanderson CD, Hollinger-Smith LM, Cox K. Developing a social determinants of learning framework: A case study. Nurs Educ Perspect. 2021;42(4):E14-E14. doi:10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000000842
3. Hamaideh S, Khait AA, Modallal HA, et al. Relationships and predictors of resilience, social support, and perceived stress among undergraduate nursing students. Open Nurs J. 2023;18:e187443462306150. doi:10.2174/0118744346238230240103055340
4. Berdida DJE, Lopez V, Grande RAN. Nursing students’ perceived stress, social support, self-efficacy, resilience, mindfulness and psychological well-being: A structural equation model. Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2023;32(5):1390-1404. doi:10.1111/inm.13179
5. Urban RW, Jennings LA, Cipher DJ. The relationships among resilience, stress, and persistence in pre-nursing students during COVID-19. Nurse Educ. 2022;47(2):102-107. doi:10.1097/NNE.0000000000001146
Sigma Membership
Delta Theta
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Cross-Sectional
Research Approach
Quantitative Research
Keywords:
Stress and Coping, Teaching and Learning Strategies, Curriculum Development, Nursing Education, Advances in Education, Nursing Students, Pre-nursing Students
Recommended Citation
Jennings, Leslie A.; Urban, Regina Wilder; and George, Kelle, "A Foundation for Success: Social Support, Stress, and Resilience, Among Pre-Nursing Students" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 18.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/18
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-11-18
Funder(s)
University of Texas, Arlington
A Foundation for Success: Social Support, Stress, and Resilience, Among Pre-Nursing Students
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Background: To combat the nursing shortage, universities focus on retention of nursing students; however, more than one-third of U.S. nursing programs report less than a 70% graduation rate.1 Nursing students encounter many barriers, and these socially imposed forces can impact academic progress. The Social Determinants of Learning (SDOL™) contains six domains that play a role in achieving learning effectiveness and includes psychosocial factors (stress and resilience) and social support.2 In nursing students, social support is positively associated with resilience3 and negatively associated with stress.4 In pre-nursing students who have not begun formal nursing education training or clinical courses, stress is negatively associated with resilience and persistence.5 Understanding the relationships between social support, stress, and resilience, will provide new insights into pre-nursing student well-being, success, and retention.
Purpose: The study's aim was to describe the relationships among perceived social support, stress, and resilience levels in on-campus and online pre-nursing students taking an introduction to nursing course.
Methods: This IRB-approved study used a survey-based cross-sectional design with convenience sampling. Pre-nursing students preparing to apply to a large public prelicensure nursing program in the southwestern United States were invited to participate during the fall of 2024.
Results: Participants (n=319) were female (88.1%), ethnically diverse (Hispanic 31.0%, Black 22.6%, Asian 22.3%, White 21.3%) an average age of 23.3 years old. Most were first-generation students (52.4%) and worked 17+ hours weekly (48.5%). Relationships among social support, stress, and resilience were statistically significant, and perceived support from friends was negatively associated with stress and positively associated with resilience.
Implications: Many academic resources are available to help nursing students succeed, but non-academic resources are lacking. Focusing on two of the SDOL domains in pre-nursing students can inform educators on how to tailor early interventions that concentrate on managing stress, increasing resilience, and increasing social support. Insight into the well-being of nursing students will guide the creation of course-specific content that promotes knowledge and skills to provide a foundation for future nursing student success, promoting retention, and taking those tools into their future nursing careers.
Description
This study aimed to describe the relationships among perceived social support, stress, and resilience in pre-nursing students (n=319) using a cross-sectional observational design. Significant relationships were observed among social support, stress, and resilience, with support from friends being notably impactful. The findings suggest that focusing on managing stress and increasing resilience and social support can help improve retention and success in nursing programs.