Stress, anxiety & depression among medical undergraduate students & their socio-demographic correlates
Background & objectives: Presence of psychological morbidity in medical undergraduate students has been reported from various countries across the world. Indian studies to document this burden are very few. Therefore, the presence of depression, anxiety and stress among medical undergraduate stu...
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2015-01-01
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doaj-aaf3701100c4478e83ffbc9bdd241f062020-11-24T23:36:24ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsIndian Journal of Medical Research0971-59162015-01-01141335435710.4103/0971-5916.156571Stress, anxiety & depression among medical undergraduate students & their socio-demographic correlatesShawaz IqbalSandhya GuptaE VenkataraoBackground & objectives: Presence of psychological morbidity in medical undergraduate students has been reported from various countries across the world. Indian studies to document this burden are very few. Therefore, the presence of depression, anxiety and stress among medical undergraduate students was assessed using a previously validated and standardized instrument, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS 42) and the associations with their socio-demographic and personal characteristics were identified. Methods: In a cross-sectional survey, a self-administered, pre-designed, pre-tested anonymous questionnaire including DASS 42 was used to collect information on basic socio-demographic (age, gender, semester) and personal characteristics (alcohol and tobacco use, academic performance). All students present on the day of survey were contacted for participation after obtaining informed written consent. Scores for each of the respondents over each of the sub-scales (Depression, Anxiety and Stress) were calculated as per the severity-rating index. Results: More than half of the respondents were affected by depression (51.3%), anxiety (66.9%) and stress (53%). Morbidity was found to be more in 5 th semester students rather than students of 2 nd semester. Females reported higher score as compared to their male counterparts. Perception of self assessment in academics was strongly associated with the higher score. Conclusions: A substantial proportion of medical undergraduate students was found to be depressed, anxious and stressed revealing a neglected area of the students′ psychology requiring urgent attention. Student counselling services need to be made available and accessible to curb this morbidity.http://www.ijmr.org.in/article.asp?issn=0971-5916;year=2015;volume=141;issue=3;spage=354;epage=357;aulast=IqbalAnxiety - DASS 42 - depression - medical students - stress |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Shawaz Iqbal Sandhya Gupta E Venkatarao |
spellingShingle |
Shawaz Iqbal Sandhya Gupta E Venkatarao Stress, anxiety & depression among medical undergraduate students & their socio-demographic correlates Indian Journal of Medical Research Anxiety - DASS 42 - depression - medical students - stress |
author_facet |
Shawaz Iqbal Sandhya Gupta E Venkatarao |
author_sort |
Shawaz Iqbal |
title |
Stress, anxiety & depression among medical undergraduate students & their socio-demographic correlates |
title_short |
Stress, anxiety & depression among medical undergraduate students & their socio-demographic correlates |
title_full |
Stress, anxiety & depression among medical undergraduate students & their socio-demographic correlates |
title_fullStr |
Stress, anxiety & depression among medical undergraduate students & their socio-demographic correlates |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stress, anxiety & depression among medical undergraduate students & their socio-demographic correlates |
title_sort |
stress, anxiety & depression among medical undergraduate students & their socio-demographic correlates |
publisher |
Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications |
series |
Indian Journal of Medical Research |
issn |
0971-5916 |
publishDate |
2015-01-01 |
description |
Background & objectives: Presence of psychological morbidity in medical undergraduate students has been reported from various countries across the world. Indian studies to document this burden are very few. Therefore, the presence of depression, anxiety and stress among medical undergraduate students was assessed using a previously validated and standardized instrument, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS 42) and the associations with their socio-demographic and personal characteristics were identified.
Methods: In a cross-sectional survey, a self-administered, pre-designed, pre-tested anonymous questionnaire including DASS 42 was used to collect information on basic socio-demographic (age, gender, semester) and personal characteristics (alcohol and tobacco use, academic performance). All students present on the day of survey were contacted for participation after obtaining informed written consent. Scores for each of the respondents over each of the sub-scales (Depression, Anxiety and Stress) were calculated as per the severity-rating index.
Results: More than half of the respondents were affected by depression (51.3%), anxiety (66.9%) and stress (53%). Morbidity was found to be more in 5 th semester students rather than students of 2 nd semester. Females reported higher score as compared to their male counterparts. Perception of self assessment in academics was strongly associated with the higher score.
Conclusions: A substantial proportion of medical undergraduate students was found to be depressed, anxious and stressed revealing a neglected area of the students′ psychology requiring urgent attention. Student counselling services need to be made available and accessible to curb this morbidity. |
topic |
Anxiety - DASS 42 - depression - medical students - stress |
url |
http://www.ijmr.org.in/article.asp?issn=0971-5916;year=2015;volume=141;issue=3;spage=354;epage=357;aulast=Iqbal |
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