Abstract
BackgroundMedical students face a variety of stressors associated with their education; if not promptly identified and adequately dealt with, it may bring about several negative consequences in terms of mental health and academic performance. This study examined psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Higher Education Stress Inventory (K-HESI).MethodsThe reliability and validity of the K-HESI were examined in a large scale multi-site survey involving 7110 medical students. The K-HESI, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and questions regarding quality of life (QOL) and self-rated physical health (SPH) were administered.ResultsExploratory factor analysis of the K-HESI identified seven factors: Low commitment; financial concerns; teacher-student relationship; worries about future profession; non-supportive climate; workload; and dissatisfaction with education. A subsequent confirmatory factor analysis supported the 7-factor model. Internal consistency of the K-HESI was satisfactory (Cronbach’s α = .78). Convergent validity was demonstrated by its positive association with the BDI. Known group validity was supported by the K-HESI’s ability to detect significant differences on the overall and subscale scores of K-HESI according to different levels of QOL and SPH.ConclusionsThe K-HESI is a psychometrically valid tool that comprehensively assesses various relevant stressors related to medical education. Evidence-based stress management in medical education empirically guided by the regular assessment of stress using reliable and valid measure is warranted.
Highlights
Medical students face a variety of stressors associated with their education; if not promptly identified and adequately dealt with, it may bring about several negative consequences in terms of mental health and academic performance
A total of 45.8% of the variance was explained by the following factors: 1) low commitment general dissatisfaction with major and curriculum; 2) financial concerns - worries about debt and financing; 3) teacher-student relationship - lack of feedback or respect from teacher; 4) worries about future profession - worries related to stress and workload in the future profession 5) non supportive climate - impersonal peer relationships; 6) workload - concerns about the amount and pace of the study load; and 7) dissatisfaction with education - issues related to educational activities
This study explored various aspects of the stress associated with medical education
Summary
Medical students face a variety of stressors associated with their education; if not promptly identified and adequately dealt with, it may bring about several negative consequences in terms of mental health and academic performance. Medical students are more vulnerable to psychological distress and mental health problems than their nonmedical peers [1]. Depression is one of the most highly prevalent mental health issues in medical students and it is associated with a higher likelihood of burnout, dropping out of medical school, and suicide [2,3,4]. Pagnin and de Queiroz [7] compared the quality of life of 206 medical students with 199 peers in the general population and found that medical students reported lower psychological well-being and lower quality social relationships than their
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