Resilience quotient and self-protection behaviors of nursing students among COVID -19 pandemic: a correlation study

Abstract

Individuals, especially healthcare professionals including nursing students, experienced significant negative consequences during the many challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this descriptive research was to investigate the relationship between Resilience Quotient (RQ) and the self-protective behaviors of nursing students in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 521 nursing students completed questionnaires regarding RQ and self-protective behaviors. The reliability coefficients for both questionnaires were 0.72 and 0.95, respectively. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation coefficient.

The research findings showed that 62.4% of the respondents had RQ scores in the normal range, while 22% had lower scores and 15.6% had higher scores. The average score for self-protective behaviors against infection was 4.29 (SD = 0.42), indicating a commendable level of adherence. Additionally, the study discovered a positive linear correlation (r = 0.438, p < 0.001) between mental resilience and self-protective behaviors. In conclusion, nursing students demonstrated their ability to emotionally adapt and effectively protect themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic. The positive correlation between these two factors emphasizes the importance of nurturing mental resilience and individual preventive practices. As a result, educational institutions should prepare nursing students to handle future disease outbreaks effectively. This includes enhancing mental resilience and promoting personal disease self-protection. By doing so, a holistic approach can be taken to equip nursing students with psychological strength and responsible preventive behaviors to face challenging circumstances.