{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T07:04:04Z","timestamp":1784099044152,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784073600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"\n Background<\/jats:title>\n The transition to the first clinical placement is a psychologically demanding phase for nursing students, requiring adaptation to patient care responsibilities, academic expectations, and unfamiliar clinical settings. Stress during this period may be influenced by academic, clinical, environmental, and relational stressors, which can affect students\u2019 psychological well-being and coping behaviors.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Objective<\/jats:title>\n This study aimed to assess the levels and sources of perceived stress and examine the relationship between coping behaviors and environmental\u2013relational stressors among first-year nursing students during their initial clinical placement.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n Design: Cross-sectional descriptive correlational study. A total of 467 first-year undergraduate nursing students undergoing initial clinical training in seven governmental hospitals participated. Data were collected using the Perceived Stress Scale for Nursing Students and the Coping Behavioral Inventory. The Perceived Stress Scale included domains related to the clinical environment and interactions with teaching and nursing staff, which were used to explore perceived environmental and relational stressors. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and multiple linear regression were used to examine associations between stress domains and coping behaviors.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n Students reported high overall perceived stress (\n M<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f62.99, SD\u202f=\u202f9.76). The most prominent stressors were practical assignments and workload, patient care, examinations of personal competence, and environmental and staff-related factors, while stress related to lack of professional knowledge\/skills and daily life was comparatively lower. Regarding coping behaviors, problem-solving and optimistic coping showed significant negative associations with total perceived stress (\n r<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f\u22120.75 and\n r<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f\u22120.36, respectively;\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001) and were significant negative predictors in regression analysis (\n \u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f\u22120.76 and\n \u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f\u22120.32;\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001).\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n First-year nursing students experienced high stress during initial clinical placement, mainly related to workload, patient care, evaluation, and environmental factors. Coping strategies showed associations with stress levels, where problem-solving and optimism were linked to lower perceived stress, while avoidance and transference showed weaker associations. These findings highlight the potential importance of structured orientation, mentorship, stress-management support, and supportive clinical training conditions during early clinical exposure.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1870065","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T06:05:58Z","timestamp":1784095558000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Perceived stress, coping behaviors, and environmental\u2013relational stressors during first clinical placement among nursing students"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Abdelaziz","family":"Hendy","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Maternal and Child Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Qassim University","place":["Buraydah, Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Ain Shams University","place":["Cairo, Egypt"]},{"name":"Nursing Services Department, Qassim University Medical City","place":["Buraydah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rasha Kadri","family":"Ibrahim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nursing Department, Fatima College of Health Sciences","place":["Al Dhafra, Madinat Zayed, United Arab Emirates"]},{"name":"Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Damnhour University","place":["Cairo, Egypt"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amani","family":"Darwish","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Psychology Department, Fatima College of Health Sciences","place":["Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nada","family":"Alqarawi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community, Psychiatric, and Mental Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Qassim University","place":["Buraydah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bander Saad","family":"Albagawi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Surgical Department, College of Nursing, Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yasir S.","family":"Alsalamah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, Mental Health Hospital, Qassim Health Cluster","place":["Buraydah, Qassim, Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"Faculty of Health Science, Department of Nursing, University of Pretoria","place":["Pretoria, South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lisa","family":"Babkair","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Nursing, King Abdulaziz University","place":["Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nasiru Mohammed","family":"Abdullahi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community, Psychiatric, and Mental Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Qassim University","place":["Buraydah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ahlam B.","family":"Alenzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Advance Nurse Practitioner, Prince Abdullah bin Musaed Cardiac Centre (PAMCC)","place":["Arar, Northern Borders Region, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Monerh Abdullah","family":"Alfalaij","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Emergency, Nursing Affairs, King Saud University Medical City","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.21608\/jhcr.2024.294110.1004","article-title":"Perceptions of nursing graduates on clinical internship programs: evaluating stress levels, strengths, and coping mechanisms","volume":"1","author":"Abdulrahman","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. 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Educ."},{"key":"ref52","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e70017","DOI":"10.1111\/nicc.70017","article-title":"First clinical practice experiences of nursing students in intensive care unit: a qualitative study","volume":"30","author":"Y\u0131ld\u0131z","year":"2025","journal-title":"Nurs. Crit. Care"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1870065\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T06:06:00Z","timestamp":1784095560000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1870065\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]},"references-count":52,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1870065"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1870065","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-1078"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-1078","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]},"article-number":"1870065"}}