Stress and coping in a sample of medical students in Brazil
Arch. Clin. Psychiatry (Impr.)
; Arch. Clin. Psychiatry (Impr.);42(1): 1-5, Jan - Fev/2015. tab
Article
in En
| LILACS
| ID: lil-742780
Responsible library:
BR1.1
ABSTRACT
Background Medical training is a stressing situation, making medical students vulnerable to psychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety. Objective The study aimed to assess the prevalence of stress and coping in students of a public medical school in Brazil, comparing the groups from the first and sixth years of training. Methods Through a cross-sectional, observational study, a sample of 232 first and sixth-year regularly registered medical students has been evaluated. Students filled a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Lipp Inventory of Stress Symptoms (ISSL), and the Coping Strategies Inventory (CSI). Results From the total sample of 232 students, 110 were first-year students and 122 sixth-year students. Stress symptoms were significantly higher in first-year students (49.1%) than in the sixth-year group (33.6%; p = 0.018). Variables significantly associated with stress were year of the training (1st year > 6th year), income (lower > higher income), satisfaction with the training (dissatisfied > satisfied) and the use of escape/avoidance copying strategy (positive association). Discussion Considering the higher stress symptoms among first-year medical students and the positive association of the escape/avoidance copying strategy with stress, strategies must be developed to enable students starting medical school to be better at coping with this stressful situations.
Key words
Full text:
1
Index:
LILACS
Main subject:
Stress, Psychological
/
Students, Medical
/
Adaptation, Psychological
Type of study:
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
America do sul
/
Brasil
Language:
En
Journal:
Arch. Clin. Psychiatry (Impr.)
Journal subject:
PSIQUIATRIA
Year:
2015
Type:
Article