An assessment of stress among clinical medical students of the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus

This study looks at sources of stress amomg the medical students of the University of the West Indies at the Mona campus. Students of the classes 1993 through 1995 were asked to fill out a questionnaire which had been developed for a similar study at the University of Texas in 1983. The return rate was 66 percent. The results were compared for differences between males and females and between the different year groups. The two most stressful items were rated the same by men and women, i.e. 1) the amount of material to be learned, and 2) examinations and/or grades. There was no statistically significant difference between stress levels by gender in this study. The penultimate clinical year was most stressful. It is hoped that the findings of this study will be the basis for discussion about whether the identified stressors are inherent and necessary to the medical training experience and, if so, how students can be better prepared to cope with them. (AU)

Nuturing by male kin among female university students in Jamaica: some preliminary findings

Looks at the behaviours of males who were psychologically present in the life of their family. Looks at the relationship between women and the males in both the nuclear and extended family systems in Jamaica, examining in particular, the ways in which females experience nurturing behaviour shown to them by their male kin(AU)

Psychiatric morbidity and related factors in West Indian students

An analysis of certain clinical and demographic variables was performed on patients seen in each of four years by psychiatrists at the University of the West Indies Mona Campus Health Services. A serial sample of 169 patients was also surveyed. A 50 percent sample of final year students was used as a control group. Personality disorders and related neurotic syndromes were commonest. Alcohol and drug addiction were absent. Contributory life stresses included male-female relationships, relating to parents, general relationships, and academic and identity problems. More of the patient sample had frequent previous emotional complaints than the control group. Passive dependency was the single greatest clinical problem and correlated highly with male-female life stresses. The common nature of dependency and its predisposition to decompensation amidst male-female difficulties are striking and could reflect the pressure of the West Indian family structure. The pattern seen reflect academic, developmental and cultural factors which are of importance in treatment and prevention (AU)