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Association Between Source of Social Support and Depression Among Nursing Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dedi Kurniawan orcid  -  Department of Mental Health Nursing, Kepanjen School of Health Sciences, Indonesia
*Akbar Satria Fitriawan orcid scopus  -  Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Respati Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Wiwit Ananda Wahyu Setyaningsih orcid scopus  -  Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
Apri Nur Wulandari  -  Department of Maternity Nursing, Notokusumo School of Health Sciences, Indonesia
Eriyono Budi Wijoyo  -  Department of Mental Health Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Tangerang, Indonesia
Erni Samutri  -  Department of Maternity Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Alma Ata, Indonesia
Gatot Suparmanto  -  Department of Basic Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Kusuma Husada, Indonesia
Bayu Fandhi Achmad  -  Department of Emergency Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
Listyana Natalia Retnaningsih  -  Department of Nursing Management, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Respati Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Putri Eka Sudiarti  -  Department of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Pahlawan Tuanku Tambusai, Indonesia
Open Access Copyright (c) 2024 by the Authors, Published by Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Diponegoro
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

Background: Nursing students have a higher risk of depression due to their already high academic burden, social isolation, pandemic loneliness, abrupt online learning, and financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Although the disruption of social network patterns during the pandemic has been observed in previous studies, it is still not fully understood which source of social support is associated with depression among nursing students. 

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the correlations between sources of social support and depression among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

Methods: An online cross-sectional study was conducted between May-September 2021. Nursing students (n=734) from seven universities across four provinces in Indonesia were recruited as participants using convenience sampling methods. Data were obtained through online questionnaires consisting of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) to assess social support, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to assess depression. Spearman-Rank correlation tests were used to examine the correlations between sources of social support and depression.    

Results: Most of the nursing students (85.1%) were female with a mean age of 19.94 years (SD=1.42). Many nursing students (n=313; 42.6%) experienced depression. Most of the students (n=465; 63.4%) perceived high family support, moderate friends (n=415; 56.5%) and significant others' support (n=437; 59.5%). Of the three sources of social support (family, friends, and significant others), only family support had a significant inverse correlation with depression (Rho=-0.492, p<0.001).

Conclusion: Family support had a significant inverse and moderate correlation with depression among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings provided information to nursing educators to incorporate a strategy to maintain robust family support and regular depression assessments as part of the online learning curriculum. Therefore, it can be used to ameliorate depression among nursing students.

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Keywords: COVID-19, depression, Indonesia, nursing students, social support

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