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Abstract

Abstract

Background: Stress among occupational therapy graduate students has continued to increase over the last decade due to high academic expectations, difficulty integrating didactic and clinical knowledge, intense class schedules, financial strain, and difficulty balancing work, school, leisure pursuits, and social participation. However, there is limited evidence in the current literature addressing coping strategies used by entry-level occupational therapy students in response to stressors. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify which coping strategies occupational therapy students most commonly use, and to describe which coping strategies they found to be most and least effective from the student perspective. Method: This study utilized a mixed-methods design. An online survey was administered to entry-level occupational therapy students containing the Brief COPE and nine open-ended questions to determine the students’ most and least effective coping strategies. The quantitative data was analyzed utilizing descriptive statistics and the qualitative responses gathered from the nine open ended questions were analyzed through a multi-layer coding process. Results: 739 entry-level occupational therapy students responded to the survey. The most used coping strategies found from the Brief COPE were emotional support and positive reframing. Fifteen themes emerged from the data describing the most and least effective coping strategies. Conclusions and recommendations: Knowing the coping strategies most commonly used by occupational therapy students, and their perspective of the strategies they found to be most and least effective, may be helpful for academic programs in an effort to encourage students to identify individualized strategies that will help them cope during their educational experience. This article provides updated information on coping strategies used by occupational therapy students, which may be helpful for academic programs as they respond to the increasing trend of student stress.

Author Bio(s)

Elena Wong Espiritu, PhD, OTD, OTR/L, BCPR is an Associate Professor in the School of Occupational Therapy at Belmont University. Her research interests include promoting student well-being including developing and evaluating the effectiveness of an occupation-based well-being intervention for her dissertation work.

Natalie N. Michaels, PT, EdD, GCS Emeritus is a Physical Therapist and a Professor in the School of Occupational Therapy at Belmont University, College of Health Sciences and Nursing. She is a Geriatric Clinical Specialist Emeritus through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties.

At the time this study was conducted, Caitlin Bender, OTD; Megan Cusick, OTD; D. Rachel Hicks, OTD; Hanna McClain, OTD; Lavanya Reddy, OTD; and Samantha Wu, OTD were students in Belmont University’s Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program. They have since graduated and are occupational therapy practitioners providing occupational therapy services in a variety of settings.

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