Self-efficacy, coping, and well-being among nursing students sexually abused in childhood

Preparing nursing students to work with sexually abused children has received little attention by pediatric nurse educators. These students often are themselves survivors of such abuse. The population of undergraduate nursing students attending a major university was invited to participate in a mailed survey to test hypotheses concerning differences in self-efficacy, coping, and well-being between subjects who were sexually abused in childhood and those who were not. A total of 87 students (79 women and 8 men) responded by returning the completed survey. Forty-seven percent of the women (n = 37) and 38% of the men (n = 3) in the sample reported having had one or more unwanted sexual experiences in childhood. Significant correlations were found between self-efficacy and confrontive coping (r = .58), emotive coping (r = .49), and palliative coping (r = -.46); between well-being and emotive coping (r = -.24); and between well-being and palliative coping (r = -.25). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) techniques were used to analyze differences in self-efficacy, coping (confrontive, emotive, and palliative), and well-being between the two groups (abused = 40 and not abused = 47). A significant difference in emotive coping was found. These findings suggest that nurse educators and administrators need to be sensitive to pediatric nurses' childhood sexual experiences. Such nurses must be knowledgeable and emotionally equipped to support the child and family through the process of recovery. It is important for them to be aware of how their own coping strategies and well-being affect the care they provide vulnerable children.