Evaluation and Comparison of Medical Students Stressors and Coping Strategies among Undergraduate Preclinical and Clinical Year Students Enrolled in Medical School of Arsi University, Southeast Ethiopia

Abstract

Background. The transition into higher education is stressful as university students face many stressful events. Medical students must deal with stressors specific to medical education. While many students adjust effectively to the university context, large proportions of students are at risk of developing mental health problems. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the most common medical student’s stressors and coping strategies among undergraduate students enrolled in the Medical School of Arsi University and their association with educational year levels. Methods. An Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted on 265 medical students by systematic random sampling. Data were collected by pretested self-administrative questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS-21 software. Logistic regression analysis was employed, and statistical significance was accepted at p < 0.05 . Result. In the present study, 5 questionnaires were rejected for incompleteness, giving a response rate of 98.1%. The top sources of stress were lack of time to review, conflict with teacher(s), and uncertainty of what was expected. ARS domain was the main cause of high stress, followed by IRS and TLRS. Religious coping, active coping, positive reframing, and planning were the most commonly used coping strategies. When preclinical year students were compared with the clinical years, TLRS and DRS domains were identified as the most common cause of stress in the preclinical years. Furthermore, instrumental support, behavioral disengagement, acceptance, religion, self-blame, and emotional support were the most commonly used coping strategies in the preclinical years compared to the clinical years. Conclusion. We observed that academic-related stressors followed by interpersonal and intrapersonal stressors are the major stressors faced by students. Active coping strategies were the most commonly employed ones rather than avoidant strategies. Stress reduction interventions were recommended.