Frequency, Severity, Rate, and Causes of Moral Distress among Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Table 2

The level of moral distress in terms of demographic characteristic of participants.

Variables		MDT^a	MDS − r^c
		Mean ± SD^b	Mean ± SD
			Frequency	Intensity	Total
Gender	Male	3.0 ± 2.8	1.3 ± 0.7	1.6 ± 0.8	2.8 ± 2.0
	Female	2.0 ± 2.0	1.5 ± 0.7	2.2 ± 0.8	4.1 ± 2.6
	-value	0.154	0.192	0.006	0.020
Age (years)	21–23	2.8 ± 2.7	1.4 ± 0.7	1.8 ± 0.9	3.2 ± 2.3
	24–26	1.9 ± 1.8	1.5 ± 0.7	2.1 ± 0.8	4.0 ± 2.8
	≥27	3.0 ± 1.1	1.3 ± 0.6	1.5 ± 0.5	3.0 ± 2.1
	-value	0.583	0.751	0.471	0.527
Academic semester	7	2.8 ± 2.9	1.4 ± 0.7	1.8 ± 0.9	3.3 ± 2.4
	8	2.2 ± 1.6	1.4 ± 0.7	2.1 ± 0.8	3.5 ± 2.5
	-value	0.354	0.957	0.246	0.766
Marital status	Single	2.6 ± 2.6	1.4 ± 0.7	1.9 ± 0.9	3.3 ± 2.4
	Married	2.9 ± 2.1	1.9 ± 0.6	1.7 ± 0.8	3.5 ± 2.4
	-value	0.745	0.316	0.407	0.776
Work experience (in months)	0	2.3 ± 2.3	1.4 ± 0.7	1.8 ± 0.9	3.3 ± 2.4
	1–6	2.9 ± 2.6	1.4 ± 0.8	2.0 ± 0.8	3.4 ± 2.3
	≥7	4.1 ± 3.8	1.3 ± 0.7	1.6 ± 0.9	3.0 ± 2.3
	-value	0.194	0.961	0.695	0.986
Participation in occupational ethics workshop	Yes	2.6 ± 2.7	1.3 ± 0.7	1.9 ± 0.9	3.2 ± 2.3
	No	2.5 ± 1.8	1.6 ± 0.8	1.8 ± 0.9	3.8 ± 2.7
	-value	0.852	0.194	0.730	0.415
Grade point average (based on 20)	14.7–16.2	2.6 ± 2.2	1.5 ± 0.6	1.9 ± 0.8	3.4 ± 2.1
	16.3–17.8	2.8 ± 3.0	1.3 ± 0.7	1.8 ± 0.9	3.2 ± 2.6
	17.9–19.3	2.3 ± 2.0	1.3 ± 0.8	1.9 ± 1.0	3.2 ± 2.5
	-value	0.566	0.576	0.880	0.821
Total	3.3 ± 2.4	2.6 ± 2.5	1.4 ± 0.7	1.8 ± 0.9	3.3 ± 2.4

Note. ^aMDT: Moral Distress Thermometer, ^bSD: standard deviation, ^cMoral Distress Scale-revised.