The relationship between self-efficacy level and stress coping style in nurses living in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus: descriptive research

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between self-efficacy level and coping styles with stress in nurses working in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Methods: The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 350 nurses between 01-30 July 2020. The study data were collected with a descriptive questionnaire, self-efficacy scale and stress coping styles scale. Results: According to the results of the study, 80.9% of the nurses were female, 19.1% were male, the majority were between the ages of 25-29, 51.1% were single, 48.6% had been working as a nurse for 1-5 years, and 76.6% worked as a clinical nurse. It was determined that the nurses participating in the study used ‘self-confident approach, helpless approach, resorting to social support, optimistic approach and submissive approach’ as coping style with stress, respectively. It was determined that the mean total score of the self-efficacy scale of the nurses was 85.83±12.68, which was at a good level, and the sub-dimensions were ‘starting the behaviour, maintaining the behaviour, completing the behaviour and struggling with obstacles’, respectively. In the study, it was determined that as the use of all sub-dimensions of the self-efficacy scale increased, the use of ‘resorting to social support’ and ‘self-confident approach’ as a coping style with stress increased and the use of ‘helpless approach’ and ‘submissive approach’ decreased. Conclusion: In this study, it was determined that the use of active problem-solving orientated approaches increased and the use of passive approaches decreased in all areas of self-efficacy in coping with stress. Providing in-service trainings that will increase the self-efficacy skills of nurses will ensure the use of active problem-based methods in coping with stress.