Sources of stress and coping mechanisms in allied health and associate degree nursing students

Students from the Allied Health (AH) and Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) programs at an Alabama community college were studented to determine sources of stress and coping mechanisms. The sample of 134 students was divided into comparison groups according to program, gender, race, and level in program, item-by-item analyses of the Stress Factor Scale and the Jaloweic Coping Scale were done to rank-order stressors and coping mechanisms according to group. The t-test was used to determine significant differences between groups.

The t-test showed that ADN students experienced significantly more stress than AH students. ADN students in all subgroups but one (Blacks) used more problem-solving coping mechanisms than their AH counterparts. There was no significant difference in the use of affective coping mechanisms among the subgroups.