Perceived stress and associated factors among medical students

Abstract

Background:Stress and its psychological manifestations are currently a major source of concern. Medical education poses challenging and potentially threatening demands for students throughout the world.Objectives:To determine the prevalence and factors associated with perceived stress in medical students in the College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Materials and Methods:This was a cross-sectional study on all medical students of batches 9, 10, and 11, which constituted all the enrolled students. Data were collected using a questionnaire based on the Kessler10 psychological distress instrument with a total score ranging from 10 to 50 points in addition to some sociodemographic characteristics. Appropriate statistical test procedures were used to study the magnitude of stress and its risk factors.Results:Mean stress score of the eighty participants was 26.03 ± 9.7. Students with severe stress constituted 33.8%, and 30% were well. Severe stress was significantly associated with female gender and junior level. Nervousness, feeling hopeless, feeling restless, and depressed were the most important factors affecting students’ stress scores. Factor analysis revealed three hidden factors for stress in this group, namely, depression, nervousness, and age.Conclusion:Stress in medical students is prevalent and significantly associated with the female gender and the junior level. Implementation of coping programs is necessary.

Stress Level Assessment of Medical School Program and correlations between Learning Styles and Teaching Methodologies

“…Another study found males to be more stressed than females, a difference which the authors argue may be due to male students' increased need to have high scores and complete their programs as quickly as possible in order to start their careers (Abdel Rahman, Al Hashim, Al Hiji, & Al-Abbad, 2013). Most studies, including the present study, found that females reported much higher levels of stress than males (Abdulghani, AlKanhal, Mahmoud, Ponnamperuma, & Alfaris, 2011;Saeed et al, 2016). The inconsistency of gender association with stress among medical students may be to the result of differences in social and educational environments, as well as of subjectivity in measuring self-reported stress.…”

“…The results suggest that it is not the teaching method but the medical school program itself that triggers stress, given the relatively high number of students in the near exhaustion phase in both universities. Furthermore, important causes of stress among new medical students included the large amount of new information, limits on time, competition, fear of failing grades, and social problems, all of which can result in anxiety and depression (Aguiar, Vieira, Vieira, Aguiar, & Nóbrega, 2009;Saeed, Bahnassy, Al-Hamdan, Almudhaibery, & Alyahya, 2016). However, it is necessary to establish a balance between learning styles to decrease the possibility that stress will develop (Silva, 2012).…”

Evaluation of a Flipped Examination Model Implemented in a Final-Year Undergraduate Pharmacotherapeutics Course

“…30,31 The most common perceived sources of academic stress, reported by various medical students in the literature, include fear of examinations, concerns about examination results and grades, and fear of failing the course at the end of the semester/year. [32][33][34] The flipped exam model in our study did not just reduce test anxiety, however it also addressed academic and test competence issues, which also represent substantial components associated with academic performance. 31 For instance, academic competence, which refers to a students' ability to manage their study load, 31 was undertaken by allowing the students to employ their understanding of the workshop presentations to design one question that they perceive as essential and relevant to learning.…”

Assessment of Depression among Applied Medical Science College Students at Taif University: A Questionnaire Survey

“…Student's gender was also linked to the higher depression and stress level; where the females showed higher stress levels than males but the difference did not reach statistical significance among medial students at King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences [14].…”