[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.