Assessment of stress load and its causes among dental students

Abstract

The aim of this study was thus to assess the stress level among dental students, characterizing the factors that induce it and describing which students are most susceptible. Two international, independent and validated to polish language and environment stress questionnaires were used: the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and the Perceived Medical School Stress Instrument (PMSS). The present study received approval from the Jagiellonian University Bioethical Committee (no. 1072.6120.290.2020). A total of 272 students from all five years of the dental undergraduate degree at Jagiellonian University Medical College were enrolled to the study, including 197 female and 75 male respondents. The overall response rate was 85%. The PSS-10 score for all dental students was 22.14±6.65. A total of 182 (66.91%) respondents had high levels of stress. Female students had significantly higher stress levels than male students, accordingly 22,9±6,51 and 20,12±6,69. Moreover, first and fifth year students had the highest stress level. In the case of PMSS the total score for all dental students was 36.84±8.65. Perceived stress among Polish dental students is generally high. These findings suggest that support services should be made widely available to all dental students. Such services should be targeted to the specific needs of male and female students as well as to those in specific years of study.