Document Type
Honors Thesis
Abstract
Introduction/Background: The nursing shortage in the United States continues to pose a significant challenge due to the widening gap between the supply of and demand for qualified nurses. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance and vitality of nurses to society. Thus, it is important to support students throughout their nursing journey, even from the earliest stages. Pre-nursing students are college students who have not yet begun taking upper-division classes and are enrolled in nursing programs, and face a unique set of struggles due to the pressure of prerequisite classes, as well as fears of not being accepted into the nursing program. Therefore, it is important to find ways to help these students with their stress so they can continue their nursing career path. Purpose/Objective: This research project aims to determine the influence of social support on the stress levels of pre-nursing students. Methods: Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative short-answer data. Participants completed a survey that included a question regarding how social support affects their stress levels. Results: The answers were divided into five themes, which are: I am not alone, We are all in the same boat, Letting it all out, Calming the storm, and Raising me up. These reasons strongly implied that social support positively influenced the stress levels of pre-nursing students. Conclusion: There should be more focus on providing pre-nursing students with adequate support that will allow them to manage their stress and flourish in school.
Disciplines
Education | Nursing
Publication Date
2025
Language
English
Faculty Mentor of Honors Project
Dr. Leslie Jennings PhD RN CNE
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Izuwah, Michelle Chinwendu Nicole, "The Influence of Social Support on the Stress Levels of Pre-Nursing Students" (2025). 2025 Fall Honors Capstones Projects. 17.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/honors_fall2025/17