Perceived stress among medical students in preclinical years: A Saudi Arabian perspective

Context: The study of medicine is extensive, time-consuming, and highly stressful, especially during preclinical study period. Aim: To assess perceived stress in medical students studying in a medical college in Saudi Arabian Eastern Province and observe any gender-related variations in stress. Study and Design: Cross-sectional comparative study. Materials and Methods: The present study was carried out in College of Medicine, University of Dammam using Arabic version of Perceived stress scale-10 questionnaire. Eighty students (40 males and 40 females) studying in 2 nd year were included in the study. Statistical Analysis: Data were analyzed by using Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 19. Descriptive analyses were conducted to determine the frequency distributions of the study variables. Independent sample t-test was used to compare stress scores among male and female students. Stress level was analyzed by quartiles of perceived stress. Results: The overall prevalence of stress found in this study was 71.7%. Mean perceived stress score of all the students was 17.31 ± 5.31. There was no significant difference in the mean stress scores of males and females students. The percentage of students with no, mild, moderate, and severe stress was found to be 28.3%, 21.7%, 31.7%, and 18.30%, respectively. Conclusions: The present study indicates of high prevalence of stress in these medical students in the preclinical years. Hence, there is a need to take measures by the authorities to reduce stress among students.