The Relationship Between Stress, Academic Motivation, and Subjective Vitality Among Nursing Students

Objectives: This cross-sectional, descriptive correlational research investigated the relationship between stress, academic motivation, and subjective vitality among nursing students. Methods: Participants were recruited through a non-probability purposive sampling approach. An anonymous online survey was conducted with 188 first- to fourth-year study nursing students, assessing their perceived academic stress using the Perceptions of Academic Stress Scale, academic motivation using the Student Academic Motivation Scale (SAMS-21), and subjective vitality using the Subjective Vitality Scale. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlational analysis, and multivariate analysis were employed in this study. Results: The results indicate that students experience moderate stress levels during exam sessions, with higher stress associated with workload and examinations. Academic motivation was characterized by high extrinsic motivation, which identified regulation and intrinsic motivation to know. A significant difference in a form of extrinsic motivation-introjected regulation-was found between student groups, with a tendency for this motivation to decrease over the years of study. No statistically significant relationship was found between students' academic stress and subjective vitality. Conclusions: Academic stress related to workload and exams is determined by both demographic factors, such as age and year of study, and psychological factors, including academic self-perception and amotivation, which highlight the multifaceted nature of the stress experienced by nursing students. Students' subjective vitality is related to intrinsic motivation-to know and achieve-and to all extrinsic motivation. External forms of regulation, especially introjected regulation, are significantly related to students' subjective vitality.