Stress and depression in undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Nursing students compared to undergraduate students in non-nursing majors

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already alarming mental health crisis on college campuses. Nursing students were uniquely impacted through the loss of clinical practicum experiences. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between student perceptions of life-stress and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in nursing students compared to students in other academic disciplines. A secondary purpose of this study was to understand nursing student perceptions of how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their educational experience. METHODS: School-related life stress and depression measures were studied in a cross-section of 2326 undergraduate students using an anonymous online survey. Follow-up qualitative data were collected (N = 12) to further explore relationships between school-related life stress and depression in nursing students. RESULTS: Nursing students had higher levels of student-life stress but fewer depressive symptoms than students in any other academic major. Students related that social support and belongingness were critical to their academic perseverance. CONCLUSIONS: Differences between nursing and non-nursing students are likely due to a multifactorial combination of social support, resilience, and posttraumatic growth.