Psychological Influence of Achievement Motivation and Family Environment on Stress Coping Skills of Nursing Students

Abstract

Coping techniques cover a broad spectrum of responses and adjustments made in the face of stress, and they can play a significant role in shaping a child's or adolescent's future. In the current study, we looked at how nursing students' ability to cope with stress was influenced by their motivation for success and their familial environment.The cross sectional survey approach was used to collect data for the current study, which was descriptive in nature. The participants consisted of 209 first and third-year nursing students from government and private colleges in Kozhikode, Kerala, India. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select participants for this current study. In this present study, three standardized instrument were used to measure coping skills inventory by Shrink and Jerabek (1996), family environment scale by Chadha (2000), and Achievement motivation scale by Beena Shah (1986) .Data analysis done by using mean, standard deviation, correlation structural equation modeling, Research findings reveals all the dimensions of coping skills were positively correlated with all the dimensions of achievement motivation.  A positive relationship between the family environment and coping skills is reasonable. Students differed significantly in their coping skills based on their year of study, nature of college, area of living, and parents' education. Final-year students had a higher level of coping skills compared to first-year students. This might be because final-year students have attained a certain level of independence and have perfected their coping mechanisms to deal with stressful situations, as opposed to first-year students who are still adjusting to college life and yet to face challenges. All the magnitudes of the family environment had a significant positive influence on coping skills. Students who express their thoughts to their parents and maintain healthy relationships may have better-coping skills. Furthermore, dimensions of achievement motivation such as academic success, vocational achievement, and social achievement had a significant positive influence on coping. The results of the structural equation modelling demonstrate that academic success and achievement motivation play a larger influence in predicting coping abilities than does the cohesiveness of the family environment.