Exploring resilience as a mediator and moderator in the relationships between stress and depression among undergraduate medical students

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that physicians are more likely to experience stress and depression. Nonetheless, little is known about the role of resilience in the connection between stress and depression among undergraduate medical students. The purpose of this study was to investigate how resilience affects the association between stress and depression in undergraduate medical students by acting as a mediator and moderator. METHOD: Students in different phases of the MBBS course were recruited from 3 medical colleges in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Stress, depression and resilience were assessed by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and the Brief Resilience Scale. Hierarchical linear regression models were used to perform the mediation and moderation analyses. RESULTS: The prevalence of stress, depression and low resilience were 11.6 %, 27.5 % and 49 %, respectively. Correlation analysis revealed that stress was positively correlated with depression. Stress and depression were negatively correlated with resilience. Resilience partially mediated the relationship between stress and depression according to mediation analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggested that resilience is a crucial mediator of the relationship between stress and depression in medical students. We recommend that medical institution authorities adopt evidence-based intervention strategies to not only lessen stress among medical students but also build resilience to promote psychological well-being.