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Perceived stress in first year medical students - associations with personal resources and emotional distress

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Medical Education, January 2017
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804 Mendeley
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Title
Perceived stress in first year medical students - associations with personal resources and emotional distress
Published in
BMC Medical Education, January 2017
DOI 10.1186/s12909-016-0841-8
Pubmed ID
Authors

Ines Heinen, Monika Bullinger, Rüya-Daniela Kocalevent

Abstract

Medical students have been found to report high levels of perceived stress, yet there is a lack of theoretical frameworks examining possible reasons. This cross-sectional study examines correlates of perceived stress in medical students on the basis of a conceptual stress model originally developed for and applied to the general population. The aim was to identify via structural equation modeling the associations between perceived stress and emotional distress (anxiety and depression), taking into account the activation of personal resources (optimism, self-efficacy and resilient coping). Within this cross-sectional study, 321 first year medical students (age 22 ± 4 years, 39.3% men) completed the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-20), the Self-Efficacy Optimism Scale (SWOP) and the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) as well as the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4). The statistical analyses used t-tests, ANOVA, Spearman Rho correlation and multiple regression analysis as well as structural equation modeling. Medical students reported higher levels of perceived stress and higher levels of anxiety and depression than reference samples. No statistically significant differences in stress levels were found within the sample according to gender, migration background or employment status. Students reported more self-efficacy, optimism, and resilient coping and higher emotional distress compared to validation samples and results in other studies. Structural equation analysis revealed a satisfactory fit between empirical data and the proposed stress model indicating that personal resources modulated perceived stress, which in turn had an impact on emotional distress. Medical students' perceived stress and emotional distress levels are generally high, with personal resources acting as a buffer, thus supporting the population-based general stress model. Results suggest providing individual interventions for those students, who need support in dealing with the challenges of the medical curriculum as well as addressing structural determinants of student stress such as course load and timing of exams.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 804 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Germany 1 <1%
Unknown 803 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Bachelor 143 18%
Student > Master 64 8%
Student > Doctoral Student 62 8%
Student > Ph. D. Student 41 5%
Researcher 35 4%
Other 134 17%
Unknown 325 40%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 259 32%
Psychology 72 9%
Nursing and Health Professions 34 4%
Social Sciences 23 3%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 15 2%
Other 65 8%
Unknown 336 42%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 05 February 2017.
All research outputs
#14,304,007
of 22,925,760 outputs
Outputs from BMC Medical Education
#1,967
of 3,343 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#229,269
of 420,293 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Medical Education
#33
of 49 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,925,760 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 35th percentile – i.e., 35% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,343 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.3. This one is in the 36th percentile – i.e., 36% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 420,293 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 43rd percentile – i.e., 43% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 49 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 30th percentile – i.e., 30% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.