Objective: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of anxiety and depression among medical students, their attitude towards consulting mental health providers, the barriers they face in seeking mental health support, and the relationships between anxiety and depression with demographic factors and attitudes.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among medical students, using validated questionnaires to assess levels of anxiety and depression, attitude towards mental health services, and barriers to seeking help. Anxiety and depression were evaluated using GAD-7, and PHQ-9 questionnaires. Statistical analyses were performed to explore associations between mental health conditions, demographic factors, and attitude towards mental health services.
Results: The study found that 46.4% of students experienced minimal anxiety. Regarding depression, 42.7% reported minimal symptoms and 4.4% had severe depression. Despite these high levels, 85.7% had never consulted a mental health provider. Major barriers included academic pressure (45.8%), concerns about confidentiality (30.7%), and feeling that problems were not significant enough (42.2%). Significant associations were found between higher levels of anxiety and depression with being female, younger age, and living alone. Additionally, students experiencing higher levels of anxiety and depression were more likely to recognize the need for mental health services. Still, they often did not seek help due to the identified barriers.
Conclusion: The prevalence of anxiety and depression among medical students was significant, yet the utilization of mental health services remained low due to various barriers.
Key words: Mental health services, depression, anxiety, medical students, Saudi Arabia
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