Study on the Relationship of Happiness, Ethical Climate, and Perceived Stress with Self-esteem of Nursing and Paramedical Students of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences in 2018

Abstract

Background & Objective: Medical students should have adequate self-esteem to deal with stressful situations and have proper compatibility. Since self-esteem is affected by internal and external factors, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between students’ self-esteem with variables of happiness, ethical climate, and perceived stress at Jahrom University of Medical Sciences. Materials & Methods: This correlational study was performed in the second semester of 2018-2019 and 316 students were selected by consensus sampling method. Data were collected using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, Olson's Hospital Ethical Climate Survey, and Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16 using descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: : In this study, the mean and standard deviation of self-esteem, happiness, ethical climate, and perceived stress were calculated at 4.06±4.45, 41.87±12.39, 91.28±13.81, and 26.39±6.33, respectively. We found a significant correlation between happiness (r=0.431, P<0.001) and perceived stress (r=-0.427, P<0.001) with the self-esteem of students. On the other hand, there was no significant relationship between ethical climates with the self-esteem of students. According to the multiple linear regression analysis results, happiness and perceived stress of students predicted 26% of the self-esteem variance. Conclusion: Due to the relationship between students’ self-esteem and the variables of happiness and perceived stress, it is recommended that programs be developed to increase happiness and decrease stress in students so that their self-esteem could be improved.

Keywords

• self-esteem
• perceived stress
• happiness
• ethical climate