Anxiety levels and methods of coping with stress of adolescents undergoing their first gynecological examination

Objective: The present study was conducted to assess the anxiety levels and the methods of coping with the stress of adolescents who underwent their first gynecological examination.Methods: The sample of this descriptive study consisted of 223 married or single adolescent women who went to a state hospital in Sivas Province in Turkey for their first gynecological examination. The data were collected by face-to-face interviews with the Personal Information Form, the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) and the Ways of Coping Inventory (WCI).Results: There was a statistically significant negative correlation between the SAI scores, and the self-confident approach (r=-0.305; p=0.001) and optimistic approach (r=-0.170; p=0.011) of the WCI subscales. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between SAI scores, and the desperate approach (r=0.153; p=0.022) and submissive approach (r=0.143; p=0.032).Conclusion: Adolescent women who underwent their first gynecological examination have moderate levels of anxiety and their coping with stress styles are ineffective. As anxiety levels increase, they use more ineffective methods.