Factors Affecting Job-Seeking Stress in Nursing Students

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate what factors are affecting job-seeking stress in nursing students. Methods: Subjects were 463 students from two 3-year and two 4-year colleges of nursing in K-Province in Korea. Data was collected from self-administered questionnaires. t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's and Spearman's correlation coefficients, and hierarchical multiple regression with dummy variables were used for statistical analy- sis of data. Results: Job-seeking stress was significantly different by school system (t=2.76, p=.006), family eco- nomic status (F=3.40, p=.005), characteristics (t=1.99, p=.047), academic achievement (F=6.54, p=.002), current weight control status (t=2.23, p=.026), times of cosmetic surgery (r=.11, p=.022), self-esteem (r=-.47, p<.001) and appearance stress (r=.40, p<.001). However, after controlling for general characteristics, self-esteem, and perceived appearance stress, job-seeking stress was significantly different by grade (1st vs 3rd, β=0.163, p<.001), academic achievement (low vs. high, β=-0.121, p=.0321), self-esteem (β=-0.224, p<.001), and appearance stress (β=0.099, p<.001). The explanation power of self-esteem on job-seeking stress was greater compared with that of appearance stress. Conclusion: Results of this study suggest that it is necessary for nursing students to develop intervention program aimed at reducing job-seeking stress, and it would be effective to focus on improv- ing self-esteem for them.