Background: Stress among undergraduate medical students is a bigger concern globally.
Aims and Objectives: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of stress among undergraduate medical students and to find association between stress with sociodemographic variables and other stressors.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 private medical college undergraduate students in Surendranagar district. The study used Kessler-10 psychological distress inventory, which measures the level of stress according to none, mild, moderate, and severe grades. Various sociodemographic, academic, and psychosocial factors were assessed using Microsoft Excel version 2021 and analyzed in SPSS version 26. Chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and binary logistic regression were used for analysis.
Results: Overall prevalence of stress among medical students was noted as 71%. Majority (39%) of the stressed students were from the 2nd year. Female students were more stressed than male students. Broad MBBS syllabus, high frequency of examinations, fear of failure in examinations, competition with the peers, language barrier, lack of recreational activities, and fear of less attendance were the academic factors behind the stress. Feeling of social isolation and lack of motivation were found to be predictors for the stress.
Conclusion: High prevalence of the stress among medical students was found in this study. Minimization of the academic workload and promotion of extracurricular activities such as sports and cinema are in need. Self-care skills should be incorporated in curriculum and counseling units can be set up for students to cope up with stress.
Key words: Stress; Undergraduate Medical Students; Cross-Sectional Study
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