Progressive Muscle Relaxation and Stress in Nursing Students

This quasi-experimental study was conducted with fourth-year nursing students enrolled in the Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing course at KTO Karatay University. The study used a pretest-posttest control group design. Students were allocated to intervention and control groups according to their positions on the official class attendance list; students with odd-numbered positions formed one group and those with even-numbered positions formed the other group. The intervention group was determined by a random selection from sealed envelopes labeled "odd numbers" and "even numbers." A total of 60 students participated in the study, with 30 students in each group.

Baseline data were collected using a Student Information Form and the Perceived Stress Scale for Nursing Students. Following the pretest assessment, students in the intervention group participated in progressive muscle relaxation sessions once a week for five weeks. Each session lasted approximately 30-40 minutes and included diaphragmatic breathing and systematic tensing and relaxing of major muscle groups under the verbal guidance of the researcher. Students in the control group continued their usual routines and received no relaxation training or additional intervention during the study period.

At the end of the five-week intervention period, the Perceived Stress Scale for Nursing Students was readministered to both groups. Pretest and posttest perceived stress scores were compared within and between groups to evaluate the effect of the progressive muscle relaxation intervention.