Perceived stress, reasons for and sources of stress among medical students at Rabigh Medical College, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

BackgroundMedical students have high levels of stress that could be due to the daily life stressors and the extra stress of academic burden. The present study investigated the perceived stress level as well as the reasons and sources of stress among medical students at a comparatively newly established medical college affiliated with King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (SA).MethodsThe present study was carried out at Rabigh Medical College (RMC), KAU, Jeddah, and completed in 2015. The data was collected by an anonymous self-administered questionnaire that has three components: a list of 33 items of probable stressors, perceived stress scale, and demographic information and academics.ResultsThe response rate in our study was 86% (152/176), the mean age was 20.35 ± 1.09, 77 (51%) were from preclinical years and 75 (49%) from clinical years. The mean PSS score among our participants was 28.5 ± 3.8 with a median of 28.0 (IQR 26.0–31.0) and 59.2% of participants were stressed. The mean PSS score 30.6 ± 4.4 for students with sibling > 5 was significantly higher as compared to the mean PSS score (27.9 ± 3.3) for students with sibling ≤5. Similarly, the mean PSS score (32.0 ± 3.4) of students with often/always occurrence of psychosocial stressors was higher as compared to the mean PSS score (28.3 ± 3.7) of those students with less than a frequent occurrence of stressors. Moreover, those students that were more stressed had lower marks in the last exam (< 80%) as compared to students with less stress who had higher marks (≥80%) (P < .05).Performance in practicals, examinations frequency, disappointment with the class lectures, lack of personal interest in medicine, lengthy academic curriculum/syllabus, worries about the future and periodic examinations performance were rated as severe.The logistic regression analysis showed that stress cases were linked with last exam marks [OR 1.26, 95% CI 0.64–2.48], number of siblings [OR 2.27, 95% CI 0.97–5.27], and academic stressor [OR 2.02, 95% CI 0.61–6.66] but no significant relationship was found.ConclusionThere were high-stress levels among the participants of this study, and the main stressors were academic-related.

Prevalence and Predictors of Perceived Stress: A Study among Medical Students of Ebonyi State University Abakaliki, Nigeria

“…The mean perceived stress scale score in this study was 19.8±5.9 and this was close to that obtained among clinical medical students of a Nigerian university which was 20.76±5.58 [12] and that of first year medical students in India which was 20.29±6.24 [20]. The mean score was lower than that obtained among medical students in Saudi Arabia [10] but higher than that obtained in a similar study in Romania [21]. From the results of this study the mean perceived stress scale score increased progressively as the academic levels of the students increased thus the final year students had the highest mean score.…”

“…The prevalence of high perceived stress, (PSS≥20) among the respondents was 51.9%. This proportion is high and comparable to that obtained among clinical medical students in a university in Nigeria, 59.8% [12] and another medical school in Saud Arabia which was 59.8% [10]. This proportion of students who had high stress is lower than that obtained among first year medical students in India, [20] and among medical students in Egypt [23] and Saudi Arabia [23].…”

“…Their stress levels are also higher when compared with students in other disciplines and the general population [7,8]. It has been found that the high level of stress among medical students is linked more to their academic activities [9,10,11].…”

Effectiveness of universal programmes for the prevention of suicidal ideation, behaviour and mental ill health in medical students: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Frequent examinations,11 lengthy academic curricula,12 tiered, rather than pass/fail grading systems,13 a mismatch between preferred teaching and learning styles14 and lack of preparation for career transitions, in particular between preclinical and clinical training15 have all been associated with poorer mental health outcomes in medical students. The structure of medical school curricula therefore offers a significant opportunity for intervention 16…”

Burn-out and mental health of minority medical students in Hungarian medical education.

“…Several previous studies draw attention to the intensive stress burden as well as its impact on the mental health on medical students, residents and doctors (87)(88)(89)(90)(91)(92). Perceived stress could have a signi cant impact on the performance of students and on burnout (93)(94)(95). Some studies reported the prevalence of higher stress levels among minority students (14)(15)(16)82).…”