Stress in Medical Students at the Federal University in Ceará, Brazil

Abstract:

The objedive of this study was to evaluate the level of stress in medical students at the Federal University in Ceará, Brazil. The sample included 562 students from the 1^st to lhe 9^th semesters. The instrument used was the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and stress was defined as a score above three. Prevalence of stress in the sample was 35.4% (n = 799). Females scored higher than males, comprising 54.64% of the stressed students (n = 199). The 5^th semester (n = 60) had the highest proportion (51.7%; n = 31) of students with scores above the GHQ cutoff. The findings suggest that the currently structured undergraduate medical course is associated with high levels of stress among students.

Keyword:
Stress; Studentes, Medical; Anxiety