Assessment of nursing students' self-esteem at a university in the South of Minas Gerais (Brazil)

• Main Authors: Erika Cássia Lopes Chaves, Talita Prado Simão, Iara Siqueira de Oliveira, Isis Prado de Souza, Denise Hollanda Iunes, Denismar Alves Nogueira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad de Antioquia 2013-07-01
• Series: Investigación y Educación en Enfermería
• Subjects: autoimagen; estudiantes de enfermería; enfermería
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0120-53072013000200012&lng=en&tlng=en

Objective. To assess the self-esteem of nursing students and explore its relationship with professional training factors that could affect it. Methodology. Descriptive research, involving 135 nursing students at a university in the South of the state of Minas Gerais (Brazil). Data collection was performed between May and September 2011, using a self-report form that collected information about the sociodemographic characteristics and satisfaction with the career chosen, as well as the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results. From the total, 90% of students were female, 41% were 20 years of age or younger, and 96% were single. One in each three was taking the first year of their program. Concerning the self-esteem level, 68% presented high self-esteem, 30% average and 2% low. A positive relationship was found between the level of self-esteem and professional perspective (p=0.011). Conclusion. Most nursing students presented high self-esteem, which was related to the professional perspective.