Prevalence of Stress, Depressive Symptoms, and Contributing Factors Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background/Objectives: Undergraduate nursing students experience high levels of stress and depressive symptoms. This study investigated the prevalence of stress and depressive symptoms among undergraduate nursing students and analyzed the sociodemographic and interpersonal factors influencing these...

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Publicado en:Nursing Reports Vol. 16; no. 3; pp. 88 - 113
Autores principales: Xu, Ling, Morales, Michael Joshua, Biangone, Marianne, Hoffmann, Thomas, Leung, Cherry
Formato: meta analysis research systematic review tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: MDPI Mar2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Mar2026
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        atl: Prevalence of Stress, Depressive Symptoms, and Contributing Factors Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
      aug:
        au:
          Xu, Ling
          Morales, Michael Joshua
          Biangone, Marianne
          Hoffmann, Thomas
          Leung, Cherry
        affil: School of Nursing, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
      sug:
        subj:
          Students, Nursing, Baccalaureate Psychosocial Factors
          Stress, Psychological Epidemiology
          Stress, Psychological Risk Factors
          Depression Symptoms
          Risk Assessment
          Human
          Systematic Review
          Meta Analysis
          PubMed
          Embase
          CINAHL Database
          Descriptive Statistics
          Confidence Intervals
          Low and Middle Income Countries
          Developing Countries
          Scales
          Sociodemographic Factors
          Age Factors
          Interpersonal Relations
          Sex Factors
          Data Analysis Software
      ab: Background/Objectives: Undergraduate nursing students experience high levels of stress and depressive symptoms. This study investigated the prevalence of stress and depressive symptoms among undergraduate nursing students and analyzed the sociodemographic and interpersonal factors influencing these conditions. Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, four databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and CINAHL) were searched for studies published between 2019 and 2024. Both narrative synthesis and meta-analysis were conducted to identify contributing factors and estimate the pooled prevalence rates. Prevalence rates of stress and depressive symptoms were estimated using random-effects models. Subgroup analyses were performed based on the severity of symptoms, study location, country income group, and measurement tool. Effect size, 95% confidence intervals, and p-values were reported. Results: The review included 54 studies. The prevalence of depressive symptoms and stress was 48% and 55%, respectively. Depressive symptoms were most prevalent in studies conducted in lower–middle-income countries and those using the Beck Depression Inventory II. Stress prevalence was highest in studies from upper–middle-income countries and those using the Perceived Stress Scale-10. Significant associations among sociodemographic and interpersonal factors include younger age, female gender, single status, financial issues, poor perceived health, conflicts with friends, and dissatisfaction with social activities. Conclusions: Nearly half of undergraduate nursing students from diverse settings experienced significant stress and depressive symptoms, driven by multiple sociodemographic and interpersonal factors.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        meta analysis
        research
        systematic review
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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