Perceived academic stress in Mexican medical students. The role of sex emotional distress, burnout, academic-social support, current abuse experiences, and coping strategies / Percepción del estrés académico en estudiantes de medicina mexicanos. El papel del sexo, distrés emocional, burnout, apoyo académico-social, experiencias actual es de abuso y estrategias de afrontamiento

Abstract Introduction Academic stress is a common problem among medical students that has a negative physiological, social, and learning impact. Perceived academic stress indicates how stressed a student is about academic issues over a given period of time and the ability to handle that stress. Objective To determine the prevalence of PAS and evaluate possible risk factors, focusing on sex differences, burnout, emotional distress, academic-social support, and coping strategies. Method A cross-sectional, retrospective, and comparative study was conducted through an online survey with medical students (MS) willing to participate anonymously. Results All students reported PAS and the majority to a moderate-severe degree. Comparing the presence of abuse within the academic environment between men and women, we found differences in the frequency of reporting emotional abuse and sexual. Also, we found differences in perceived academic social support from teachers and family members. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed sex and current sexual abuse inside school had the strongest association with PAS in MS, followed by a family history of depression and perceived less academic social support from family. Discussion and conclusion Timely identification of individuals at-risk will be critical to establish preventive strategies to limit the impact of PAS in MS, stress management programs, training coping skills, and offer prompt therapeutic alternatives when needed.

Resumen Introducción El estrés académico es un problema común entre los estudiantes de medicina que tiene un impacto negativo a nivel fisiológico, social y de aprendizaje. El estrés académico percibido (PAS) indica lo estresado que está un estudiante por cuestiones académicas durante un periodo de tiempo determinado y la capacidad para manejar ese estrés. Objetivo Determinar la prevalencia del PAS y evaluar los posibles factores de riesgo, centrándose en las diferencias por sexo, burnout, el malestar emocional, el apoyo académico-social y las estrategias de afrontamiento. Método Se realizó un estudio transversal, retrospectivo y comparativo a través de una encuesta en línea con estudiantes de medicina dispuestos a participar de forma anónima. Resultados Todos los estudiantes reportaron PAS y la mayoría en un grado moderado-severo. Comparando la presencia de maltrato dentro del ámbito académico entre hombres y mujeres, encontramos diferencias en la frecuencia de denuncia de maltrato emocional y sexual. Asimismo, encontramos diferencias en el apoyo social académico percibido por parte de docentes y familiares. El análisis de regresión logística múltiple mostró que el sexo y el abuso sexual actual dentro de la escuela tenían la asociación más fuerte con PAS, seguidos por antecedentes familiares de depresión y menos apoyo social académico percibido por parte de la familia. Discusión y conclusión La identificación oportuna de las personas en riesgo será fundamental para establecer estrategias preventivas para limitar el impacto de PAS, programas de manejo del estrés, capacitación en habilidades de afrontamiento y ofrecer alternativas terapéuticas rápidas cuando sea necesario.

Academic stress in high school students during the transition from online to offline exams: A retrospective study from post-COVID-19 era.

Background: Stress is a common phenomenon. Everyone faces stress, albeit of different intensity and due to different reasons. Stress in students can be due to many reasons-non-academic and academic. Academic stress is a major deciding factor in the fluctuation in academic achievements. It has also been implicated in mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, and even suicide, and physical illnesses like hypertension, obesity, etc., Additionally, post-COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there have been adverse effects on the education sector due to the offline-online mode of classes. Aim: To assess academic stress in high school students, to compare stress between male and female students, and to find the correlation of academic stress with the 10th standard's result, i.e. percentage. Material and Methods: A retrospective study was designed by the Department of Psychiatry, of a medical college of Madhya Pradesh in schools of Khandwa and nearby areas from June 2022 to August 2022. A total of 162 high school students were selected as per inclusion and exclusion criteria. Perception of Academic Stress (PAS) scale and Scale for Assessing Academic Stress (SAAS) were used to assess academic stress. Statistical analysis was done by SPSS version 25 using the Student t-test and Pearson correlation tests. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 15.82 ± 0.81 years. There was a significant difference in the mean percentage of the 9th and 10th standard. Both genders differed significantly in class percentages, but not the mean SAAS score. Most students had moderate stress. Only the cognitive indicator of SAAS was found to be significantly correlated with 10th standard percentages. Conclusion: Academic stress is ubiquitous. External factors like the transition from online to offline exams in addition to anticipation of the exams themselves can add to the stress. Prompt identification of stress can alleviate the emergence of future psychiatric illnesses.

Examining the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on exercise behavior and perceived academic stress among U.S. college students.

Objective: The aim of this study was to capture the impact of COVID-19 on exercise behavior in U.S. college students. Exercise behaviors and perceived academic stress were examined from pre-COVID-19 (January-March 2020) and early-COVID-19 (April-July 2020) to continued-COVID-19 times (August-October 2020). Participants: One hundred and thirty-two participants completed the online questionnaires retrospectively. Methods: Two-way analyses of variance were used to examine exercise behaviors and academic stress perception over time between genders. Results: Participants spent much time in sedentary behavior and an increase in academic stress was evident in learning during the early-COVID-19 period. The time spent in sedentary behavior was reduced, but the stress involving coursework remained during the continued-COVID period. The impact of the COVID pandemic was observed to be universal across sex groups. Conclusions: Universities should consider how to support physical and mental health during lockdown and extended closure due to a pandemic.

Perceived Academic Stress and Depression: The Mediation Role of Mobile Phone Addiction and Sleep Quality.

BACKGROUND: Although academic stress is a well-known risk factor for students' depression, little is known about the possible psychological mechanisms underlying this association. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of depression and sleep disturbance among Chinese students, examined the relationship between perceived academic stress and depression, considered if mobile phone addiction and sleep quality is a mediator of this relationship, and tested if mobile phone addiction and sleep quality together play a serial mediating role in the influence of perceived academic stress on depression. METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among students from September to December 2018 in Heilongjiang Province, China. The final analysis included 5,109 students. Mobile phone addiction, sleep quality, and depressive symptoms were assessed using the Mobile Phone Addiction Index, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scales, respectively. The serial mediation model was used to analyse the relationship between perceived academic stress, mobile phone addiction, sleep quality, and depression. RESULTS: Among all participants, the prevalence of depressive symptoms and sleep disturbance was 28.69 and 27.95%, respectively. High school students showed the highest scores of perceived academic stress (2.68 ± 1.06), and the highest prevalence of depressive symptoms (33.14%) and sleep disturbance (36.47%). The serial mediation model indicated that perceived academic stress was a significant predictor of depression (B = 0.10, SE = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.06 - 0.13). Additionally, mobile phone addiction (B = 0.08, 95% boot CI = 0.06-0.11) and sleep quality (B = 0.27, 95% boot CI = 0.22-0.33) played a mediating role between perceived academic stress and depression. Mobile phone addiction and sleep quality together played a serial mediating role in the influence of perceived academic stress on depression (B = 0.11, 95% boot CI = 0.08-0.14). Furthermore, the indirect effect (i.e., the mediating effect of mobile phone addiction and sleep quality) was significant and accounted for 64.01% of the total effect. CONCLUSIONS: Our research results underscore the need for stakeholders-including family members, educators, and policy makers-to take preventative intervention measures to address depression among Chinese students, especially high school students.

Perceived academic stress and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents: A moderated mediation analysis of overweight status.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has indicated the association of perceived stress with mental health problems. In China, Confucian collectivism and an exam-centered culture encourage parents to have high educational expectations that impose great pressure on their children's learning. However, limited research has focused on adolescents' perceptions of the negative consequences of academic stress stemming from their parents' educational expectations. This study addressed this research gap by examining the direct effect of adolescents' perceptions of academic stress on their depressive symptoms and the indirect effects of both parent-child communication and interaction. We further explored the pathway differences between overweight and non-overweight adolescents. METHODS: By using a sample (n = 6,566) from the first two waves of the China Education Panel Survey, moderated mediation analysis was performed to simultaneously analyze the mediating roles of parent-children communication and parent-children interaction and the moderating role of adolescent overweight status. RESULTS: Adolescents' perceived academic stress (W1) was positively associated with their depressive symptoms (W2). This association was partially mediated by both parent-child communication (W1) and parent-child interaction (W1). Moreover, adolescent overweight status significantly moderated the paths between the adolescents' perceived academic stress and their depressive symptoms, between their perceived academic stress and parent-child interaction, and the indirect relationship via parent-child interaction. LIMITATIONS: Some measurement biases including self-reported, unverified, and single-item measures, alongside not considering all variations in controlled variables should be noted. CONCLUSION: The study's findings identify the significant roles of parent-child communication and parent-children interaction in contemporary China and indicate overweight adolescents' susceptibility to stress.