Comparative Analysis of Occupational Stressors and Coping Mechanisms among General and Psychiatric Nursing Professionals

Abstract

The present study intended to explore the association between workplace stressors and coping strategies among general and psychiatric nurses. Stress at work is a persistent global problem for nurses. Psychiatric nurses are said to have especially high levels of mental stress when compared to other healthcare professionals. Using a purposive sampling technique, 330 nurses were selected from Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Islamabad, and Peshawar. Nurses were further divided into two categories based on their workplace. The Nursing Stress Scale (NSS; Saarni et al., 2008) and the Brief COPE (BC; Carver, 1997) were used to collect the data. A noteworthy negative relationship was found between stress and coping strategies among general and psychiatric nurses. Male nurses with a higher level of stress were engaged more with positive coping strategies. Similarly, nurses from psychiatric wards and with low job experience were more stressed, showing less dependency on coping strategies. Male nurses from the psychiatry ward who were less engaged with coping strategies experienced more stress. Nurses with less job experience and from psychiatry wards were facing more stress.