Background: Stress is a complex dynamic process of interaction between a person and his or her own life. Medical education is perceived as being stressful and characterized by many psychological changes in students.
Aims and Objectives: To assess stress and explore the differences and correlates of perceived stress among MBBS, BDS, and BPTh first-year students of Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Pimpri, Pune.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study involving first-year undergraduate students of MBBS, BDS, and BPTh courses. A semi-structured questionnaire developed by Cohen et al. with satisfactory internal consistency and construct validity was used. Unpaired t-test and Chi-square test were used for statistical analysis.
Results: Mean perceived stress scale (PSS) score of female students of MBBS (22 ± 5.96) was higher compared to male students of MBBS (19 ± 6.56) with P = 0.0009**. In total, mean PSS score of female students (20.77 ± 6.54) was higher compared to male students (19.07 ± 6.12) with P = 0.01*. Percentage of females in the high-stress category was more in medical, dental, and physiotherapy with χ2 = 51.405 with 6 degrees of freedom, P = 0.000***.
Conclusion: Significant number of the students felt stressful. Females were more stressful when compared to males.
Key words: Stress; Undergraduate Students; Medical Student; Dental Student
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