How do stressful life events affect medical students' academic adjustment? Parallel mediating mechanisms of anxiety and depression.
BMC Med Educ
; 24(1): 617, 2024 Jun 04.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38834998
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Medical students frequently face challenges in academic adjustment, necessitating effective support and intervention. This study aimed to investigate the impact of stressful life events on medical students' academic adjustment, focusing on the mediating roles of depression and anxiety. It also differentiated the impacts between at-risk students (those with academic failures) and their peers respectively.METHODS:
This case-control study involved 320 at-risk medical students and 800 other students from a university in western China. Participants anonymously completed the scales of stressful life events, depression, anxiety, and academic adjustment. T-tests, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and structural equation modeling were employed for statistical analysis.RESULTS:
Depression and anxiety were significantly more prevalent in at-risk students (46.8% and 46.1%, respectively) than in controls (34.0% and 40.3%, respectively). Notably, at-risk students had poorer academic adjustment (t = 5.43, p < 0.001). The structural equation modeling had good fit indices and the results indicated that depression and anxiety fully mediated the effects of stressful life events on academic adjustment. For at-risk students, stressful life events significantly decreased academic adjustment through increased depression and anxiety (p < 0.001). Conversely, anxiety had a positive effect on academic adjustment in other students.CONCLUSION:
Targeted interventions focusing on depression and anxiety could reduce the negative impact of stressful life events on medical students' academic adjustment. However, educators have to distinguish the differences between at-risk students and others.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Ansiedade
/
Estresse Psicológico
/
Estudantes de Medicina
/
Depressão
Limite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
BMC Med Educ
Assunto da revista:
EDUCACAO
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
China