A cross-sectional study on personal values of medical students: the differences from their instructors, their associations with mental wellbeing, and the influences of gender.

BACKGROUND: Personal values of Thai medical students have been observed to be diverging from those of their seniors, but the differences remain uncharacterized. Despite its potential association with mental wellbeing, the issue remain unexplored in the population. This study aimed to explore (1) the difference in personal values between medical students and instructors and (2) the association between student's value adherence to mental well-being and the interaction by gender. METHODS: An online survey was performed in 2022. Participants rated their adherence to five groups of values, namely, Self-Direction, Hedonism, Achievement & Power, Universalism & Benevolence, and Tradition. Participants also rated their mental wellbeing. Comparisons were made between the personal values of students and instructors. The association between the personal values of students and their mental wellbeing and the interaction between values and gender were analyzed in linear regression. RESULTS: Compared to instructors, students rated higher on Universalism & Benevolence, marginally higher on Hedonism, and lower on Tradition. Students' ratings on Self-Direction, Universalism & Benevolence, and Tradition predicted better mental wellbeing. Their rating on Hedonism predicted poorer mental wellbeing, the effect of which was marginally stronger in males. Ratings on Achievement & Power marginally predicted poorer mental wellbeing in females. CONCLUSION: Difference in personal values between medical students and instructors have been observed. Some of these values hold potentials over student's mental wellbeing. Curricular and medical school environmental accommodation for the changes in the characters of learners may be necessary to mitigate the adverse effects on their mental wellbeing and foster development of desirable professional characteristics.

Moderation Effects of Positive Core Belief and Social-Emotional Responsiveness on the Relationship Between Cyberbullying Victimization and Affective Symptoms.

Introduction: Medical students are a vulnerable population. Exposure to cyberbullying can aggravate stress and lead to affective disorders. Features that moderate the influence of this stressor have been under-studied in Thai context. Materials and Methods: An annual survey on the mental health and stressors of medical students from 2021 was analyzed. Measures on cyberbullying victimization, psychosocial stressors, self-reported resilience measures ("problem solving", "positive core belief", "social emotional responsiveness", and "perseverance"), and other covariates were assessed for their effects on affective symptoms using linear regression. Interaction analyses were then performed. Results: A total of 303 cyberbullied respondents were included. In a linear regression model controlled for cyberbullying victimization score, perceived psychosocial difficulties, age, and academic year, positive core belief significantly predicted lower affective symptoms, while social-emotional responsiveness showed a trend toward predicting lower affective symptoms. Trend toward negative interaction was found for positive core belief, whereas an opposite trend was found for social-emotional responsiveness. Implications in the context of medical schools are also discussed. Discussion: Positive core belief appears to be a resilience feature toward cyberbullying victimization in the studied population. Its effects were discussed from the perspective of cognitive-behavioral therapy. In the context of medical school, the belief could be fostered by creating a safe learning environment with readily available guidance. Social-emotional responsiveness is a protective factor toward cyberbullying victimization, although its trend toward negative interaction with cyberbullying victimization implies that this feature's protective effect declines as intensity of the bullying increases. Conclusion: Positive core belief is a potential resilience feature of cyberbullying victimization. On the other hand, the protective effect of social-emotional responsiveness appeared to decline with greater intensity of cyberbullying.

"Severe Anemia: A Case Report of an Uncommon Precipitant of Schizophrenia Relapse".

A 48-year-old patient with stable residual schizophrenia experienced a syndromic psychosis relapse following an episode of severe combined immunohemolytic and pure red cell aplastic anemia, with a hemoglobin level of 4.7 g/dl. The anemia was attributed to her anti-HIV medication zidovudine. Her HIV infection had been well-controlled; no other organic precipitant of the psychosis was found. Following transfusion of 2 units of leukocyte-poor packed red cells, schizophrenia symptoms promptly recovered to her baseline. This was maintained at 3- and 6-month follow-ups without any need for antipsychotic dose adjustment. Following zidovudine discontinuation and a short course of oral prednisolone, her anemia gradually recovered.