Self-compassion and positive and negative affects on medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: studies demonstrate a higher rate of anxiety, depression and stress symptoms among Medical students when compared to the general population. The context of the coronavirus pandemic (SARS-CoV-2) generated additional stress to these students. Objective: the present study aimed to evaluate the emotional health of medical students at a Community University. Methods: there were 437 participants, that answered a sociodemographic questionaire, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the Scale of Self-compassion – Brazil.Results: most (69%) are female, 63% live with their family, 35% have student loans, 59% practice some religion, 45% reported a diagnosis of psychological disorder, 27% use psychiatric medication and 9% use of psychoactive substances. More than 72% of women and 58% of men, presented scores of positive affects (PA), negative affects (NA), and self-compassion (SC) that were below the population mean. The report of psychological disorders and use of psychiatric drugs were also found to be significantly associated to lower rates of PA (respectively, p<0,0001 and p=0,030) and SC (p<0,001 in both) and higher rates of NA (p<0,001 in both). Conclusion: the results point to greater vulnerability of the psychological health of medical students during the pandemic and indicate the importance of adopting measures aimed at emotional well-being at the institutional level.