Exploring the relationships among nursing students' anxiety in the clinical setting and select demographics.

Abstract

The clinical learning experience is an essential part of nursing education that is often anxiety provoking. Understanding the factors associated with the anxiety levels of nursing students in clinical placements has become more complex over the years with the increasing heterogeneity of the nursing population. Associations between student demographics and their anxiety levels in the clinical setting have not yet been explored in the research literature. The questions guiding this descriptive correlational study are as follows: What is the anxiety level of students as determined by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)? Is there a relationship between students’ age, gender, previous employment, and previous education and their selfperceived anxiety levels? The framework for this study is situated cognition theory. The data provided through the study revealed that nursing students have a higher than average level of anxiety. The data revealed no statistical significant correlations involving age, previous education, previous employment, and self-perceived anxiety levels. There was a statistically significant difference between the anxiety scores of the female group and those of the male group, with males reporting higher levels of anxiety. The data provide an opportunity for discussion and identify the need for future research and practice.