COVID-19 Pandemic: Another Source of Stress for Medical Students
Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the experience of higher education with potentially negative consequences for students’ wellbeing. Objectives To compare medicine/dentistry students’ depression/anxiety/stress levels before versus during the pandemic and to analyse the role...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2022-06-01
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| Series: | European Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933822012603/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797616968674574336 |
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| author | A.T. Pereira C. Cabacos A. Araújo M.J. Soares M.J. Brito F. Carvalho D. Mota M. Bajouco N. Madeira M. Carneiro A. Macedo |
| author_facet | A.T. Pereira C. Cabacos A. Araújo M.J. Soares M.J. Brito F. Carvalho D. Mota M. Bajouco N. Madeira M. Carneiro A. Macedo |
| author_sort | A.T. Pereira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the experience of higher education with potentially negative consequences for students’ wellbeing.
Objectives
To compare medicine/dentistry students’ depression/anxiety/stress levels before versus during the pandemic and to analyse the role of COVID-19-related stressors in their psychological distress.
Methods
Students from the Faculty of Medicine University of Coimbra answered socio-demographic and personality questionnaires and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale/DASS before (academic years 2016-2017-2018-2019 - SAMPLE1; n=1000) and during (September-December 2020 and January-March 2021 - SAMPLE2; n=650) the COVID-19 pandemic. Mean age (21.12±3.75), personality traits scores, and gender proportions (»75% girls) did not significantly differ between samples. SAMPLE2 also filled in the Fear of COVID-19 Scale and a new version of the Inventory of Sources of Stress During Medical Education/ISSDME, containing a COVID-19 -related dimension (restrictions on training and on socializing with friends/colleagues).
Results
SAMPLE2 presented significantly higher mean scores of depression (3.89±3.55vs.3.33±3.34), anxiety (3.27±4.08vs.2.86±3.29), stress (7.07±5.72vs.6.18±4.59) and total DASS (12.28±10.55vs.13.65±11.13) than SAMPLE1 (all p<.05). Fear of COVID-19 was a significant predictor of DASS score (adjusted R2=2.9%, p<.001). COVID-19-related stressors continued explaining significant increments of DASS variance after controlling for each of the ISSDME dimensions: Course demands (R2 Change=1.8%), Human demands (2.5%), Lifestyle (2.3%), Academic competition (5.5%), and Academic adjustment (5.2%) (all p<.001).
Conclusions
This study adds to the evidence of the negative impact of COVID-19 on students and emphasizes its pernicious role on medical students’ psychological distress, which is already higher due to the individual and academic stressors to which they are more exposed.
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:48:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-03b8573509ec4c3495abc61b89aee4f4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0924-9338 1778-3585 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:48:53Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-03b8573509ec4c3495abc61b89aee4f42023-11-17T05:06:58ZengCambridge University PressEuropean Psychiatry0924-93381778-35852022-06-0165S495S49610.1192/j.eurpsy.2022.1260COVID-19 Pandemic: Another Source of Stress for Medical StudentsA.T. Pereira0C. Cabacos1A. Araújo2M.J. Soares3M.J. Brito4F. Carvalho5D. Mota6M. Bajouco7N. Madeira8M. Carneiro9A. Macedo10Faculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, -, Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Department Of Psychiatry, Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, -, Coimbra, Portugal Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Department Of Psychiatry, Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Department Of Psychiatry, Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Department Of Psychiatry, Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, -, Coimbra, Portugal Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Department Of Psychiatry, Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, -, Coimbra, Portugal Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Department Of Psychiatry, Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Department Of Psychiatry, Coimbra, PortugalFaculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, -, Coimbra, Portugal Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Department Of Psychiatry, Coimbra, Portugal Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the experience of higher education with potentially negative consequences for students’ wellbeing. Objectives To compare medicine/dentistry students’ depression/anxiety/stress levels before versus during the pandemic and to analyse the role of COVID-19-related stressors in their psychological distress. Methods Students from the Faculty of Medicine University of Coimbra answered socio-demographic and personality questionnaires and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale/DASS before (academic years 2016-2017-2018-2019 - SAMPLE1; n=1000) and during (September-December 2020 and January-March 2021 - SAMPLE2; n=650) the COVID-19 pandemic. Mean age (21.12±3.75), personality traits scores, and gender proportions (»75% girls) did not significantly differ between samples. SAMPLE2 also filled in the Fear of COVID-19 Scale and a new version of the Inventory of Sources of Stress During Medical Education/ISSDME, containing a COVID-19 -related dimension (restrictions on training and on socializing with friends/colleagues). Results SAMPLE2 presented significantly higher mean scores of depression (3.89±3.55vs.3.33±3.34), anxiety (3.27±4.08vs.2.86±3.29), stress (7.07±5.72vs.6.18±4.59) and total DASS (12.28±10.55vs.13.65±11.13) than SAMPLE1 (all p<.05). Fear of COVID-19 was a significant predictor of DASS score (adjusted R2=2.9%, p<.001). COVID-19-related stressors continued explaining significant increments of DASS variance after controlling for each of the ISSDME dimensions: Course demands (R2 Change=1.8%), Human demands (2.5%), Lifestyle (2.3%), Academic competition (5.5%), and Academic adjustment (5.2%) (all p<.001). Conclusions This study adds to the evidence of the negative impact of COVID-19 on students and emphasizes its pernicious role on medical students’ psychological distress, which is already higher due to the individual and academic stressors to which they are more exposed. Disclosure No significant relationships. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933822012603/type/journal_articlestress sourcesCovid-19 pandemicdepression anxiety and stress scalemedical students |
| spellingShingle | A.T. Pereira C. Cabacos A. Araújo M.J. Soares M.J. Brito F. Carvalho D. Mota M. Bajouco N. Madeira M. Carneiro A. Macedo COVID-19 Pandemic: Another Source of Stress for Medical Students European Psychiatry stress sources Covid-19 pandemic depression anxiety and stress scale medical students |
| title | COVID-19 Pandemic: Another Source of Stress for Medical Students |
| title_full | COVID-19 Pandemic: Another Source of Stress for Medical Students |
| title_fullStr | COVID-19 Pandemic: Another Source of Stress for Medical Students |
| title_full_unstemmed | COVID-19 Pandemic: Another Source of Stress for Medical Students |
| title_short | COVID-19 Pandemic: Another Source of Stress for Medical Students |
| title_sort | covid 19 pandemic another source of stress for medical students |
| topic | stress sources Covid-19 pandemic depression anxiety and stress scale medical students |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933822012603/type/journal_article |
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