Undergraduate nursing students' level of assertiveness in Greece: A questionnaire survey

Abstract

Background: A number of studies of nursing and midwifery have found stress and bullying to be frequent problems. Those suffering from bullying and stress need to have high levels of assertiveness to resist and to cope successfully. Hence, it was considered vital to assess the assertiveness level of nursing students throughout their training curriculum. Methods: The study population was composed of nursing students in different semesters at one school in Central Greece (n = 298) who agreed to complete a questionnaire on assertiveness level assessment, which had been translated into Greek and adapted to this population. All students present in class completed the questionnaire, representing 80% of the total population of active students. Mean assertiveness scores between semesters were compared by ANOVA and comparisons between the responses of the first semester students and responses of advanced semester students were done by Pearson's chi square. Results: The main finding of this study was that the assertiveness levels displayed by students increase slightly in advanced semesters by comparison to those displayed by first-semester students. Conclusions: Assertive behavior should be encouraged through learning methods. Nurses should preferably obtain this training throughout their studies. Instructors have an essential role in the improvement and achievement of assertiveness training curriculums for undergraduate nursing students. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.