Mediating Role of Perceived Social Support in the Relationship between Stress and Resilience among Nursing Students in Saudi Arabia

The frameworks connecting social support, stress, and resilience remain poorly understood among nursing students in Saudi Arabia. This study investigated the mediating role of perceived social support in the relationship between perceived stress and psychological resilience.

A descriptive cross-sectional design was utilized with 190 nursing students at the University of Hail. Data were collected using three established instruments: the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) to measure the construct of global stress; the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) to measure the construct of psychological resilience; and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) to measure support constructs from family, friends, and significant others. Statistical analyses included Spearman rank-order correlation, One-Way ANOVA, and Path Analysis, with the Sobel test used to evaluate the mediation model.

Perceived social support did not statistically significantly mediate the relationship between stress and resilience (p = 0.261). While a strong positive correlation was observed between stress and social support engagement, the year of study emerged as the primary predictor of resilience (eta = 0.520), representing a large effect size despite the statistical significance of other variables.

The analysis indicates that the year of study was a primary predictor of resilience in this cohort, suggesting that professional maturity and clinical exposure may be more relevant than academic performance. Although a correlation was observed between stress and support engagement, perceived social support did not significantly mediate the relationship between stress and resilience, accounting for minimal variance. These results suggest a potential benefit in shifting toward “operational support” and structured clinical scaffolding to better assist students in navigating academic and clinical stressors.

Social support mechanisms among nursing students appear to function as reactive crisis-management tools rather than proactive buffers, often lacking the specific recovery pathways needed to translate perceived support into clinical resilience. Consequently, nursing education could benefit from a shift toward “operational” support, focusing on professional socialization and clinical competence, to address life-stage stressors and integrate resilience-building into high-stakes clinical practice.