Keywords
How to Cite
Abstract
Background: Perceived stress is a common psychological concern among nursing students due to demanding academic and clinical requirements. While stress is often assumed to negatively affect academic performance, existing evidence shows inconsistent findings, highlighting the need for further investigation. Objective: To examine the association between perceived stress and academic performance (GPA/Percentage) among nursing students. Methodology: A quantitative cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on 60 nursing students. Academic performance was measured using GPA (percentage), while perceived stress was categorized into three levels: mild, moderate, and severe, and coded numerically (1-3). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize stress levels. Spearman’s rank order correlation was applied to assess the association between stress and GPA. Additionally, the Kruskal Wallis H test was used to compare GPA across different stress levels. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: The majority of participants experienced moderate stress (45.0%), followed by severe stress (33.3%) and mild stress (21.7%). Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed a weak positive relationship between perceived stress and academic performance (r = 0.181), which was not statistically significant (p = 0.167). Similarly, the Kruskal Wallis test indicated no significant difference in GPA across stress levels, χ²(2) = 1.928, p = 0.381. Although a slight increasing trend in GPA was observed with higher stress levels, the association was not statistically meaningful. Conclusion: Perceived stress demonstrated a weak and non-significant relationship with academic performance among nursing students, suggesting that stress alone may not be a key determinant of GPA. These findings indicate the potential role of other moderating factors such as coping strategies and resilience, warranting further research.