Effect of Peer Mentorship on Stress in First-Year Nursing Students

Overview

This study aims to evaluate the effect of a peer mentor-mentee program on perceived stress levels among first-year nursing students. Starting university and adapting to nursing education may be stressful for first-year students due to new academic, social, and environmental demands. Peer mentoring may help students adapt to university life, receive academic and social support, and cope more effectively with stress. This study was designed as a non-randomized controlled experimental study with a pretest-posttest design. The study population consists of first-year nursing students enrolled at the same institution. Students in the experimental group will participate in an eight-week peer mentor-mentee program supported by fourth-year nursing students who serve as mentors. The program includes guidance on adaptation to university life, academic processes, time management, problem-solving, communication, and coping with stress. Mentor-mentee meetings will be conducted face-to-face or online according to student availability. Students in the control group will receive the university's routine orientation and standard academic advising services. The main hypothesis of the study is that first-year nursing students who participate in the peer mentor-mentee program will have different post-intervention perceived stress levels compared with students in the control group. Perceived stress will be assessed before and after the intervention using the Perceived Stress Scale. The effectiveness of the mentoring process will also be evaluated using the Peer Mentorship Evaluation Scale.

This study was designed as a non-randomized controlled experimental study with a pretest-posttest design to evaluate the effect of a peer mentor-mentee program on perceived stress levels among first-year nursing students. The study was conducted with first-year nursing students enrolled in the nursing department at Istanbul Kent University. To reduce contamination between groups, students from different class sections were assigned to the study groups. One class section formed the intervention group, and another class section formed the control group. The study was completed with 120 students, including 60 students in the intervention group and 60 students in the control group. The intervention group participated in an eight-week peer mentor-mentee program in addition to the university's routine orientation and standard academic advising services. Twelve fourth-year nursing students served as peer mentors. Mentors were selected based on voluntary participation, academic achievement, effective communication skills, supportive attitudes, and faculty approval. Each mentor was matched with five first-year nursing students. Before the intervention, mentors and mentees received structured training on the mentoring process, university and department orientation, academic processes, ethical principles, confidentiality, time management, problem-solving, leadership, communication skills, and coping with stress. After the training and matching process, mentor-mentee meetings were conducted face-to-face or online according to student availability. Communication between mentors and mentees was also supported through mobile instant messaging groups. The control group received the university's routine orientation program and standard academic advising services only. Students in the control group could meet with their academic advisors during advising hours and communicate with them by e-mail when needed. Data were collected online at two time points: before the implementation of the peer mentor-mentee program and immediately after completion of the eight-week program. Perceived stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale. The mentoring process was evaluated using the Peer Mentorship Evaluation Scale. The primary outcome of the study was the change in perceived stress levels from baseline to post-intervention.