Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Italian Nursing Students: Prevalence and Predictors.

Background/

Objectives

Mental disorders in nursing students, although very common under normal circumstances, have worsened over time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to assess (1) what the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in Italian nursing students was and (2) what factors were associated with them.

Methods

In May 2023, a cross-sectional study was conducted on the bachelor's degree Nursing course in an Italian university. Levels of anxiety and stress were assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), respectively. In addition, socio-demographic variables and data on mental health, drug intake, and substance use were collected. Multiple binary logistic regression adjusted analyses were used to identify predictive factors.

Results

A total of 148 nursing students completed the questionnaire. A total of 9.5% reported a previous diagnosis of a mental disorder, and, of these, 35.7% reported that it was diagnosed after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mean GAD-7 and PHQ-9 score was 9.68 (SD = 5.2) and 8.37 (SD = 5.6), respectively. Protective factors for depressive symptoms included not having a previous diagnosis of a mental disorder (adjusted odds ratio = 0.10, 95% CI: 0.002-0.47, p < 0.001) and a perceived high (adjusted odds ratio = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.003-0.22 p < 0.001) or medium (adjusted odds ratio = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.03-0.82, p < 0.05) socioeconomic level, while the predictor of anxiety symptoms was returning home once a month for students studying away from their residence (adjusted odds ratio = 6.4, 95% CI: 1.01-40.8, p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Urgent investments are needed in universities to implement mental health promotion programmes and to offer counselling services to reduce and prevent mental health problems among students.