en عمومى General پژوهشي Research <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="line-height:2;"><b>Introduction: </b>This study investigates stress among nursing students, applying the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (TMSC) to explain stress adaptation, integrating recursive exposure, collective coping, and institutional helplessness.<br> <b>Methods: </b>A concurrent triangulation mixed-methods design was employed. The study setting was the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Nigeria. A stratified convenience sampling was used for the quantitative component (N= 250) and purposive sampling for the qualitative component (N= 15). Data of the quantitative phase were collected using the Academic Stress Scale (ASS), Brief COPE Inventory (BCI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) from March to August 2025. Quantitative analyses were conducted using SPSS version 26 and Jamovi version 2.5 at a significance level of p < .05, including correlation and PROCESS-based mediation and moderation models. Directed content analysis guided by the TMSC was used to for the qualitative pahse.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br> <b>Results: </b>Academic stress was negatively associated with mental health (r = -.28, p < .01), while coping was positively associated with mental health (r = .34, p < .01). Coping partially mediated (&beta; = -.07, 95% CI [-.12, -.03]) and moderated (&beta; = .11, p = .018) the stress-mental health relationship. Sleep quality showed no significant direct association with mental health (&beta; = .08, p = .277) but was thematically linked to institutional constraints. Qualitative findings identified recursive exposure, collective coping, and institutional helplessness as central contextual processes shaping stress adaptation.<br> <b>Conclusion:</b> The Contextually Expanded Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (CE-TMSC) provides a culturally grounded framework linking personal, collective, and institutional stress dimensions. Findings highlight that peer-based coping, empathetic practices, and rest foster resilience, interrupt recursive exposure, and promote well-being among nursing students.</span></span></span></div> Academic stress, Coping, Mental health, Mixed-methods, Nursing students 0 0 http://jccnc.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1007-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Sadiat Iyabode Alliu alliu.si@unilorin.edu.ng 100319475328460015210 100319475328460015210 Yes Department of Psychology Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Stephen Ishola Babatunde babatunde.stephen@oouagoiwoye.edu.ng 100319475328460015211 100319475328460015211 No Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Science, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State Praise Akpe-Taiye Odey Odey4praise@gmail.com 100319475328460015212 100319475328460015212 No Department of Psychology Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Bamikole Emmanuel Agesin agesin.be@unilorin.edu.ng 100319475328460015213 100319475328460015213 No Department of Psychology Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Leonard Chidozie Orji daniellaesyihum@gmail.com 100319475328460015214 100319475328460015214 No Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Science, University of Agriculture, Imo State. Olufolakemi Victoria Adedeji Olufolakemi.adedeji@calebuniversity.edu.ng 100319475328460015215 100319475328460015215 No Caleb University, Imota, Lagos