Introduction: Personality resilience is theoretically defined as a set of personality traits related to an individual’s ability to manage demanding life circumstances. It is reflected in the capacity to overcome challenges, maintain a sense of control over situations, and preserve internal balance in a constructive and optimistic manner. In addition, personality resilience develops and strengthens through acquired experiences, which enable individuals to develop more effective coping strategies for dealing with challenges. Purpose: The aim of this master’s thesis is to examine the relationship between self-rated health difficulties and psychological resilience among nursing students. Methods: We used a quantitative, non-experimental research design. The research instrument consisted of two questionnaires: the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC–10) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ–15). The study included full-time and part-time undergraduate nursing students from all study years at one public faculty in Slovenia, enrolled between the academic years 2021 and 2024. A total of 548 fully completed questionnaires were included in the analysis. Participants were aged between 19 and 50 years, with the majority being female (86.5%). For hypothesis testing, an independent samples t-test, non-parametric statistics, and Pearson’s correlation test were used. The level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: We identified gender differences, as male students rated their resilience higher than female students, while female students reported a greater burden of individual physical health symptoms, particularly headaches, nausea, gastrointestinal problems, fatigue or lack of energy, and sleep difficulties. Among the most pronounced symptoms in terms of perceived burden, fatigue stood out, with 48.6% of participants reporting it as highly burdensome, followed by back pain, headaches, nausea, bloating, gastrointestinal problems, palpitations, and sleep disturbances. Resilience showed a statistically significant and moderately strong negative correlation with perceived physical health problems. Discussion and conclusion: The results of the study showed that higher self-perceived resilience is associated with fewer health problems among nursing students. Based on these findings, it would be reasonable to develop a programme aimed at strengthening nursing students’ resilience and to provide them with knowledge about the importance of resilience as well as techniques for enhancing it.
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