[ impact of stress management training on the copping style and perceived stress in medical students]

Medical students experience a high level of stress, with potential adverse consequences on their academic performance. Stressors cannot be modified in numerous cases but students' abilities to cope with stressors should be upgraded. In this study, we investigated the effect of stress management training [As part of the Life Skills Curriculum in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences] on perceived stress, coping style in medical college students and also persistence of the effect of training. This was a quasi-experimental study [before and after]. The sample size was 35 medical students and included all of the second semester medical students. Sampling method was census. Stress management training included four two-hour sessions for four consecutive weeks. Assessment was carried out by use of Perceived Stress Scale [PSS-14] and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations [CISS-21] in four steps [before, immediately, 3 and 6 months after classes]. Collected data were entered into SPSS17 software and analyzed by paired t-tests., ANOVA and Tukey post hoc test. Before training, the mean value for perceived stress among students was 33.42 which decreased to 32.70, 31.50 and 29.22, after one, three and six months after training, respectively. We found significant differences in perceived stress only between the stages conducted before training and six months after training. [P-Value: 0.012]. The dominant style of copping with stress in all periods was that of problem oriented but changes in a variety of styles in different periods were not significant. In this study, reduced perceived stress can be related to the training, but the role of confounding factors should be kept in mind. Lack of change in the students' coping style after training can be attributed to short-term training and defective contents of the training. It seems that other factors such as students' level of education and compulsory training can interfere with the results of this study. Therefore, further studies are required to carry out alterations in the life skill curriculum in Kurdistan University of medical sciences

[Suicide attempt and related factors in Kurdistan province]

Suicide is one of the most important community health problems which is related to many different factors in different communities. This was a case-control study and patients with suicide attempt admitted in Sanandaj hospitals were regarded as the case group. Control group was selected and matched for age. Data were introduced into SSPS 12.0 software and were analyzed by means of x2 test. Suicide attempt was more frequent in females [71.1%], in those with age of 20-24 years [31.1%] and in those with high school education [56.1%]. There was a significant relationship between number of family members and life events with suicide attempt [P=0.01, P<0.05 respectively]. No significant relationship was found between suicide attempt and marital status. The most common ways for suicide attempt were by using drugs and poisons. 6.7% of patients attempted suicide by selfburning. Self-burning was more frequent in married women and had 100% mortality. High frequency of suicide attempts in young women calls for attention to mental health in this group. Preventing suicide attempts by self-burning, particularly in married women indicates the importance of public education as well as reassessing marital condition, and family life training and education about handling interpersonal problems within families

Prevalence of substance abuse in medical students of Kurdistan University

Substance abuse is one of the most prevalent problems in young adults. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence rate of substance abuse among Kurdistan university students. This was a cross sectional and descriptive analytic study. The sampling method was census and sample size included all students of Kurdistan University [1186 student] in 2007. The data were collected and recorded in a questionnaire for each subject. Data were introduced into SPSS software and analyzed by mean of Chi Square test. The results of this study indicated the percentage of students who reported usage of substance one or more times in their lives as following: alcohol 17.1, cannabis 4.7%, opium 4.8%, heroin 0.7%, ecstasy 2.7, and other substances 5.2. Ongoing abuse of different substances was assessed as following: alcohol 1.1%, cannabis 0.1%, opium 0.1%, heroin 0.1%, ecstasy 0.1%, other substances 0.2. There was a correlation between substance abuse and male gender [p<0.001], age [p<0.001], living with friends [p<0.001], and being medical student [p<0.01]. There was no correlation between substance abuse and marriage and father education. All substances, except for opium, had been offered to the medical students for the first time by their friends. Curiosity was the most common motivation for cannabis and opium use and pleasure was the most common reason for alcohol, heroin and ecstasy use. The mean age of first use for different substances was 18.6, 18.3, 19.5, 20.3, and 20.2 years for alcohol, opium, heroin, ecstasy, and cannabis. Substance use among Kurdistan university students was similar to other universities of Iran. Although substance abuse by female students was much lower than male ones in Kurdistan University, it was higher in comparison to the results of studies in other universities