Abstract

Descriptive correlational study conducted with the aim to measure the prevalence and level of psychological distress symptoms and its relationship with sociodemographic, family and academic variables, in undergraduate Nursing students. The Goldberg General health Questionnaire of 12 items was applied to 228 students, previous informed consent, finding a 36% prevalence of psychological distress. The most frequent symptoms were: overwhelmed and tension, lack of concentration, reduced ability to enjoy daily life, feeling depressed, loss of sleep and incapacity to cope with problems. The psychological discomfort was significantly associated with: less time for recreation, economic concern, more than ten hours of personal study, mostly coming from province, low socioeconomic level perception, poor family support perception, average grade below five and medium satisfaction with the career. It was concluded that there is a high prevalence of psychological distress among students of nursing related to student's personal, academic and family characteristics.