Stress and mental health among medical students

Abstract

Introduction Medical studies bring many stressful activities to students. Prolonged stress can make adverse effects to mental health and lead to further professional burnout. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the association of stress impact and adverse effects of medical studies with psychological distress among medical students. Methods The cross sectional study was conducted on 367 fourth-year medical students of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, by means of the anonymous questionnaire, containing: socio-demographic data, self-reported health status and stressful influences of studying activities. Mental health status was estimated by General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Results More than 50% of students perceive frequent feeling of psychic tension, and one third has problems with insomnia. Nearly one-half of students assessed their general stress level as moderate or high. Exams were estimated as high stressor in 63.1% of all students. Stressful effects of communication with teaching staff were reported by one quarter of the examinees. The scores of GHQ-12 were above the threshold in 55.6% of all students. Mental health problems among students were most significantly associated with stressful experience during exams and contacts with teaching staff. Conclusion Academic stress makes great influence on mental health of medical students. Reduction of stress effects should be directed to optimization of the examination process and improvement of communication skills.