The impact of social crises on nursing students’ mental health: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background The whole world is affected by twenty-first-century social crises. This study evaluated the impact of pandemics, poverty, migration, wars, and climate change on nursing students’ mental health. Methods The study was a cross-sectional study conducted among 1300 nursing students in...

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Main Authors: Zeynep Sacikara, Deniz Kocoglu-Tanyer, Kubra Sultan Dengiz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-08-01
Series:BMC Nursing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03706-5
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author Zeynep Sacikara
Deniz Kocoglu-Tanyer
Kubra Sultan Dengiz
author_facet Zeynep Sacikara
Deniz Kocoglu-Tanyer
Kubra Sultan Dengiz
author_sort Zeynep Sacikara
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background The whole world is affected by twenty-first-century social crises. This study evaluated the impact of pandemics, poverty, migration, wars, and climate change on nursing students’ mental health. Methods The study was a cross-sectional study conducted among 1300 nursing students in Turkey. The data were collected using a personal information questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire, and the Climate Change Worry Scale. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression. Results Almost half of the participants believed they would have living conditions similar to those of adults today. Participants had a mean General Health Questionnaire score of 3.8 ± 3.5, suggesting three in five participants were at risk of poor mental health (63.6%). The results showed that being a third-year student, having a moderate to high income, having authoritarian parents, having moderate or bad friendships, considering migrating abroad after graduation, being unhappy about the nursing profession, fearing poverty, and being concerned about climate change made participants more vulnerable to poor mental health. Current social crises have affected nursing students around the world. Conclusions Nursing students are at high risk of experiencing poor mental health. There is a need to create an environment where nursing students can explain their anxiety and develop supportive interventions to manage their anxiety.
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spelling doaj-art-5e784eaa932a45ce885c80f6d0c096572025-08-20T03:04:36ZengBMCBMC Nursing1472-69552025-08-0124111010.1186/s12912-025-03706-5The impact of social crises on nursing students’ mental health: a cross-sectional studyZeynep Sacikara0Deniz Kocoglu-Tanyer1Kubra Sultan Dengiz2Faculty of Nursing, Public Health Department, Necmettin Erbakan UniversityFaculty of Nursing, Public Health Department, Selcuk UniversityFaculty of Nursing, Public Health Department, Necmettin Erbakan UniversityAbstract Background The whole world is affected by twenty-first-century social crises. This study evaluated the impact of pandemics, poverty, migration, wars, and climate change on nursing students’ mental health. Methods The study was a cross-sectional study conducted among 1300 nursing students in Turkey. The data were collected using a personal information questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire, and the Climate Change Worry Scale. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression. Results Almost half of the participants believed they would have living conditions similar to those of adults today. Participants had a mean General Health Questionnaire score of 3.8 ± 3.5, suggesting three in five participants were at risk of poor mental health (63.6%). The results showed that being a third-year student, having a moderate to high income, having authoritarian parents, having moderate or bad friendships, considering migrating abroad after graduation, being unhappy about the nursing profession, fearing poverty, and being concerned about climate change made participants more vulnerable to poor mental health. Current social crises have affected nursing students around the world. Conclusions Nursing students are at high risk of experiencing poor mental health. There is a need to create an environment where nursing students can explain their anxiety and develop supportive interventions to manage their anxiety.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03706-5Climate changeLife crisesNursing studentsMental health
spellingShingle Zeynep Sacikara
Deniz Kocoglu-Tanyer
Kubra Sultan Dengiz
The impact of social crises on nursing students’ mental health: a cross-sectional study
BMC Nursing
Climate change
Life crises
Nursing students
Mental health
title The impact of social crises on nursing students’ mental health: a cross-sectional study
title_full The impact of social crises on nursing students’ mental health: a cross-sectional study
title_fullStr The impact of social crises on nursing students’ mental health: a cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed The impact of social crises on nursing students’ mental health: a cross-sectional study
title_short The impact of social crises on nursing students’ mental health: a cross-sectional study
title_sort impact of social crises on nursing students mental health a cross sectional study
topic Climate change
Life crises
Nursing students
Mental health
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03706-5
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AT zeynepsacikara impactofsocialcrisesonnursingstudentsmentalhealthacrosssectionalstudy
AT denizkocoglutanyer impactofsocialcrisesonnursingstudentsmentalhealthacrosssectionalstudy
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