The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among perceived stress, stressors, and coping mechanisms of nurses in the areas of the intensive care unit, coronary care unit, cardiac recovery unit, and the emergency room. It was proposed that nurses in these areas perceive environmental and job stressors for which they developed specific copingmechanisms. It was further proposed that a relationship exists between levels of stress and coping mechanisms used by nurses.All registered nurses (RN's) and licensed practical nurses (LPN's) in each of the above units at Ball Memorial Hospital who agreed to participate were included in the study. The nurses were surveyed by questionnaires which they completed during their leisure time and placed in a drop box on their unit. No names or signatures were asked for. Informed consent was implied by the completion and return of the questionnaire which included, the Nurse Stress Scale by Gray-Toft & Anderson (1981), a coping mechanism scale by Kelly & Cross (1985), and a demographic questionnaire. Demographic characteristics included age, gender, educational level, marital status, years of experience, and type of nurse (manager or staff and RN or LPN). No risks were foreseen to the participants. However, it is hoped that participants in the study were able to develop a greater awareness of job related stress and coping mechanisms employed.The design of the study was nonexperimental, descriptive, and correlational. The independent variable was work related stress and the dependent varible was coping mechanisms. Pearson's product moment correlation, t-test, and multivariate analysis of variance were used to analyze the data.The results indicated that there were sigificant relationships between five of the stress subscales, and selected coping mechanisms. Total stress was also found to have significant posititve correlations with four of the coping mechanisms. There were no significant differences between RNs and LPNs in general level of stress and in the seven subscales of stressors. / School of Nursing
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/184449 |
| Date | January 1992 |
| Creators | Ruggerio, Christine Marie |
| Contributors | Ball State University. School of Nursing., Ali, Nagia S. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | iv, 87 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-us-in |
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