The association between stress, self-esteem and childhood acceptance in nursing and pharmacy students: a comparative cross-cultural analysis

Mimura, Chizu, Murrells, Trevor and Griffiths, Peter (2009) The association between stress, self-esteem and childhood acceptance in nursing and pharmacy students: a comparative cross-cultural analysis. Stress and Health, 25 (3), 209-220. (doi:10.1002/smi.1240).

Abstract

The proposition that stress level is affected by self-esteem development, for which acceptance from others in childhood is a key issue, was tested in two health care professions. The sample was 131 from nursing studies and 91 from pharmacy studies at a university in London, and 344 from nursing and 976 from pharmacy in Tokyo. Levels of stress were measured with the Perceived Stress Scale, self-esteem with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and childhood acceptance with the Parental Nurturance Scale. The data were analysed in terms of levels of and causal path between stress, self-esteem and childhood acceptance. The proposed mechanism was supported among the nursing and pharmacy students in both British and Japanese cultures. The sample was also found to be substantially high on stress and low on self-esteem and childhood acceptance. The results suggested that those entering the health care profession, such as nursing and pharmacy, have some additional vulnerability to stress compared with the general population. Enhancing self-esteem was strongly recommended in stress management for health care professions.

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