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KMID : 0362520100120040367
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Journal of The Korean Academy of Dental Hygiene
2010 Volume.12 No. 4 p.367 ~ p.382
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A Study on the Stressors and Coping Patterns of Dental Hygiene Students Preparing for the National Dental Hygienist Certification Exam
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Lee Sun-Young
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Abstract
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The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of stressors to related factors in juniors who were about to take the national dental hygienist certification exam and in sophomores who were preparing for the exam, and to investigate their stress-coping patterns. The subjects in this study were 165 dental hygiene sophomores and juniors in Seoul, on whom a survey was conducted. The collected data were analyzed, and the findings of the study were as follows: 1. As for stress, the sophomores were under pressure due to dental hygiene classes (52.70%), academic standing (45.95%), the national exam (32.43%) and economic hardship (22.97%). The juniors were stressed out due to the national exam (83.62%), future employment (51.65%) and economic difficulties (14.29%). There were statistically significant gaps in their stress about the national exam, dental hygiene classes, academic standing and future employment (p<0.0001). 2. Concerning the impact of the stressors on stress, the sophomores gave a mean of 2.69, and the juniors gave a mean of 3.02. The sophomores were more affected by the stressors than the juniors in general. The sophomores got 2.39 in stress about the national exam, and the juniors got 2.81 in that regard. The former faced significantly more pressure about that (p<0.0001). The sophomores and juniors respectively got 2.25 and 2.83 in stress about dental hygiene classes, and the former was under heavier stress (p<0.0001). The sophomores and juniors respectively got 2.06 and 2.56 in stress about assignments, and the former was significantly more stressed out (p<.0001). 3. As a result of checking the correlation of general characteristics to the stressors involving the national exam, dental hygiene classes and assignments, the stress of the sophomores about the national exam was closely correlated to the degree of their sickness and employment prospect (p<0.05), and their stress about dental hygiene classes was correlated to the degree of their sickness (p<0.05). Their stress about assignments had a statistically significant correlation to health status and the degree of sickness (p<0.05). The stress of the juniors about the national exam was highly correlated to health state and the degree of sickness (p<0.05), and their stress about dental hygiene classes had a statistically significant correlation to satisfaction level with the department and employment prospect (p<0.05). 4. Regarding stress-coping patterns, the sophomores got 3.01 in long- term stress adjustment, and the juniors got 3.12 in that aspect. The most dominant way to cope with stress in both groups was by talking with others about the cause of stress, to which the sophomores and juniors gave 2.14 and 2.43 respectively. The sophomores and juniors got 3.01 and 3.33 in short- term adjustment, and there were differences according to their academic year in common short-term adjustment methods. The prevalent short-term adjustment method of the sophomores was having a chat with friends, to which they gave 1.99. That of the juniors was seeing a movie, going to the theater or watching TV, to which they gave 1.91. Overall, the juniors lagged behind the sophomores in the way of stress handling. The above-mentioned findings showed that the dental hygiene students suffered heavy stress while they were at college and preparing for the national exam, and the types of stressors differed with academic year. It should be noted that dental hygiene students are likely to be stressed out for different reasons according to academic year, colleges and dental hygiene departments should inform students of differentiated stress- coping methods in consideration of their academic year and develop counseling programs to prevent them from facing pressure.
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KEYWORD
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National Dental Hygienist Certification Exam, Stress, Stress-coping patterns
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