A Comparison of Perceived Stress among Undergraduate Nursing, Education, and Engineering Majors

Abstract

The physiological and psychological effects of stress can be detrimental to the health and well-being of a college student. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived stress levels of nursing students and compare those to the perceived stress levels of engineering and education students. This quantitative study consisted of approximately 76 students between the ages of 18-39 attending Carroll College and enrolled in 300 level courses in the nursing, education, and engineering programs (39 nursing, 21 education, and 16 engineering students). The study consisted of 16 male and 60 female participants of different races. The Perceived Stress Scale-10 was utilized to measure the students’ perceived stress levels. Results from the study were shown to be statistically significant with a p-value less than .05, with nursing students demonstrating higher perceived stress levels than education and engineering students. Future research includes implementing stress reduction strategies to decrease stress levels in the nursing program.