The Emotional Experience and Grades in Nursing School

Vol. 1 No. 2

Year: 2011

Issue: May-Jul

Title: The Emotional Experience and Grades in Nursing School 

Author Name: 

Synopsis: 

There has been much research to suggest that depression, anxiety, and stress exist among college students. However, there is limited research on how these emotional states may affect grade point average (GPA). The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of depression, anxiety, and stress among nursing students and to further analyze how those states influence GPA. The study was conducted during the spring 2010 semester at a mid-sized, rural university in the southern United States. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, a demographic survey, and academic records were used as instrumentation for this study. Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric tests and multiple regression analyses were used to explain and identify significant findings. These findings indicate that nursing students have a significant amount of self-reported anxiety during the first year of nursing. Level I nursing students have the lowest GPA among the three levels which indicates the higher level of anxiety may potentially lead to poor academic achievement. The multiple regression analyses indicated statistical significance in predicting end of semester grade point average among Level I and Level III students. This study provided insightful information related to emotional variables in nursing students. Future research studies may include further analyses of a larger, more diverse population to strengthen the ability to predict GPA.