Prevalence of stress in Casablanca medical students: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

IntroductionRecently, an important literature data has reported that medical students experience stress more than students in other disciplines. In contrast, there is a significant shortage of the stress impact on the academic performance. The primary purpose of our study was to determine the prevalence of stress among Casablanca Medical students and to investigate if there is an association between stress and academic skills.MethodsA total of 275 participants studying at Casablanca Medical School were included. The study was conducted using a self-administered, anonymous questionnaire, which included four subscales on academic skills perception (Academic competence, Test competence, Time management and Strategic study habits) and a Test Anxiety scale to assess the degree of stress related to exams among medical students.ResultsThe overall findings showed that 52.7% of respondents were stressed by examinations, and the highest stress prevalence was among the fifth-year medical students. Measures of comparative stress degrees between male and female students did not show any statistical significant differences (p=0.34). Correlation analysis revealed negative association between stress and academic competence (-0.394), test competence (-0.426), time management (-0.240), strategic study (-0.183) respectively (p<0.001).ConclusionMedical educators and psychologists have to increase clinical awareness of stress among medical students, by establishing strategies for stress management.

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“…The highest prevalence of perceived high stress, 58.2% was found among the 5 th year medical students and closely followed by students in the final year class, 58.1%. This finding is similar to that found among medical students in Casablanca, Morocco where the highest prevalence of stress was among the fifth year medical students [26]. In a similar study in Abraka, Nigeria, students in the fourth year had the highest proportion of students who were stressed [27].…”

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

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Adjustment Disorder Among Medical Students in Arabian Gulf University Bahrain, a Cross-Sectional, Descriptive Study.

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