Abstract

ALVES APOSTOLO, João Luís; ALVES RODRIGUES, Manuel  and  PINEDA OLVERA, Juan. Assessment of the Nursing Students' Emotional States. Index Enferm [online]. 2007, vol.16, n.56, pp.26-29. ISSN 1699-5988.

Background: The study of the emotional states arises as a pertinent problematics, in the context of the help to the students’ personal development and of the built learning. Objective: To analyse the emotional states of the students drawn from the Nursing School of Coimbra, Portugal. Method: Descriptive-correlational study in a sample of 229 nursing students, in the week prior to the students’ final assessment. The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule were used. Results: Approximately 50% of the students present levels of anxiety and stress above the normal and 20% severe and extremely severe levels. About 40 % of the students present levels of depression above the normal and 9% severe and extremely severe levels. Discussion: A high number of students reveal suffering. These results are being institutionally used under a preventive perspective as a useful tool in the psycho pedagogical strategies for the follow-up and mentoring process; to help rethink the new students reception strategies and as a background for the recently established students psycho pedagogical help office.