Objective: Present study was conducted to assess the perceived academic sources of stress among undergraduate dental students and determine its level among various demographic groups, i.e., gender, year of study, pre-university education and accommodation.
Design: Descriptive study
Place and duration of study: This study was conducted in dental section, Islamabad Medical and Dental college, Islamabad from July to November 2016.
Materials and Methods:
BDS students were asked to rate their perceived stress on modified version of Dental Environment Stress (DES) questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were applied to find the mean scores and SD on all items. Using SPSS v.21, Kruskal Wallis test was used to compare stress levels among different undergraduate professional years and Mann Whitney U test to determine association and stress sources and demographic variables.
RESULTS: A total of 172 participants responded (86%) to the survey. Overall stress in undergraduate dental students was in moderate range. Major stressors reported were huge syllabus load (3.53±0.64), followed by lack of relaxation time (3.42±0.86) and fear of failing (3.34±0.87). Third year was the most stressed class (2.50±0.50) and females (2.37±0.39), students living at home (2.38±0.38) and those with GCE A-levels (2.40±0.38) were more stressed than their peers. Academic performance was the most stressful of the five stress domains (3.07±0.74).
CONCLUSION: Syllabus load followed by lack of time for relaxation and fear of failing were the most perceived sources of stress. Academic performance was the most stressful of the five stress domains and third year BDS was the most stressed class.
Key words: Dental Education; Undergraduate, Dental Students; Psycholofical Stress, Stressor.
|
