The Effects of Test Anxiety, Academic Stress, and Sleep Quality on Depression among Nursing Students

This study was conducted to examine the relationships among test anxiety, academic stress, sleep quality, and depression in nursing students, and to identify the factors influencing depression.A descriptive correlational research design was employed, and data were collected from 166 nursing students enrolled in two universities located in Daejeon and Gyeonggi Province.The instruments used included general characteristics, test anxiety, academic stress, sleep quality, and depression scales.Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0, and t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression analyses were performed.The mean score of test anxiety was 39.1012.97,academic stress was 37.435.75,depression was 15.908.96,and sleep quality was 23.778.50.Significant correlations were found among test anxiety, academic stress, sleep quality, and depression.The regression analysis showed that the overall model was statistically significant (F = 16.456,p < .001),with an explanatory power of R = .340,indicating a relatively high predictive ability for depression.Among the independent variables, test anxiety had a significant positive effect on depression ( = .496,p < .001),while GPA had a significant negative effect ( = -.166,p = .013).Based on these findings, it is suggested that systematic intervention programs should be developed to reduce test anxiety and academic stress and to improve sleep quality to alleviate depression in nursing students.In particular, it is necessary to establish counseling systems that can identify and support students vulnerable to emotional difficulties at an early stage.