Date
2-28-2025
Department
School of Nursing
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD)
Chair
Teresa Pape
Keywords
nursing students, coping, stress, positive reappraisal, positive reappraisal coping intervention
Disciplines
Higher Education | Nursing
Recommended Citation
Walborn, Deanna Lynne, "The Differences in Perceived Stress and Coping for Prelicensure Nursing Students after a Positive Reappraisal Coping Intervention" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 6543.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/6543
Abstract
Academic stress has become a common problem among nursing students, which can lead to undesirable student outcomes if their stress goes unabated. The purpose of this quasi-experimental pretest/posttest study is to determine if an intervention using a positive reappraisal coping intervention (PRCI) can reduce student nurse stress. Knowles’ theory of adult learning along with Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping (TMSC) provided a foundation for the study. Olejnik’s (1984) table was used to determine the minimal total sample size required for this research. A sample of 26 nursing students from those who are enrolled in a public university in the Northeast region of the United States completed the pretest and posttest. A paired samples t-test was used to compare the means of the variables perceived stress and coping for the pre/posttests of a single group of participants. The instruments used were the Perceived Stress Scale-10 and the Brief-COPE Inventory. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to determine a normal distribution. Change scores were calculated. The results of the study were analyzed with SPSS using a parametric, dependent paired samples t-test and descriptive statistics to report demographics. The results indicated there was no statistical significance, and the researcher failed to reject the null hypotheses. However, there was practical significance with mean scores for the Brief-COPE inventory subcategory of problem-focused coping improved, indicating increased use of this coping style for both male and female participants. In addition, use of the positive reframing facet of coping improved after the intervention, with a twofold increase in use by male participants. Future research is recommended on this subject considering nursing program type, increased participant numbers, and length of intervention.
