Parenting Stress and Psychological Health among Staff Nurses in Selected Hospitals of Sasaram, Bihar: A Descriptive-correlational Study
K. Latha
Narayan Nursing College, Gopal Narayan Singh University, Rohtas, Bihar, India.
Nandini Bhumij *
Department of Mental Health Nursing, Narayan Nursing College, Gopal Narayan Singh University, Rohtas, Bihar, India.
Sudhir Kumar
Narayan Nursing College, Gopal Narayan Singh University, Bihar, India.
Kumari Jyoti
Narayan Nursing College, Gopal Narayan Singh University, Bihar, India.
Khushboo Kumari
Narayan Nursing College, Gopal Narayan Singh University, Bihar, India.
Navneet Kumar
Narayan Nursing College, Gopal Narayan Singh University, Bihar, India.
Kundan Kumar Sharma
Narayan Nursing College, Gopal Narayan Singh University, Bihar, India.
Chanchal Kumari
Narayan Nursing College, Gopal Narayan Singh University, Bihar, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Staff nurses who are parents must balance demanding clinical responsibilities with childcare and family roles, which may contribute to parenting stress and psychological distress. This study assessed parenting stress and psychological health and examined the relationship between them among staff nurses working in selected hospitals of Sasaram, Bihar. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design was used, involving 100 married staff nurses with at least one child who were selected through non-probability sampling. Data were collected using a socio-demographic proforma, the 18-item Parental Stress Scale, and the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), and analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and chi-square tests. Moderate parenting stress was reported by 64% of participants, while 18% had low and 18% had high parenting stress; the mean score was 56.82 ± 11.34. Mild psychological distress was observed in 47%, moderate distress in 25%, severe distress in 7%, and good psychological health in 21%; the mean GHQ-28 score was 12.76 ± 4.95. Parenting stress was positively correlated with psychological distress (r = 0.68, p < 0.05). Age, number of children, family type, and duty pattern were significantly associated with both outcomes. The findings indicate a need for counselling, stress-management support, family-friendly scheduling, and workplace measures that promote psychological wellbeing among parent nurses.
Keywords: Parenting stress, psychological health, psychological distress, staff nurses, parental stress scale, general health questionnaire-28, work-family conflict