Comparative study of stressors in medical and non-medical students of Tehran Islamic Azad University

Abstract

Background: Stress is one of the perceived feelings in university students that plays an important role in students' academic performance and achievement which is often overlooked. Therefore, the present study was conducted to identify and compare stressors in medical and non-medical students. Materials and methods: In this comparative descriptive study, a sample of 380 medical and non-medical students of Islamic Azad University in Tehran, who were at the first semester of the 2019-2020 academic year were selected. The study tools included a demographic information and stressors questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS-16 software using descriptive statistics and independent t-test at the significant level of 0.05. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the medical and non-medical students of Tehran Islamic Azad University, in terms of problems related to "academic affairs", "emotions", "job, welfare and finance", "marital issues, marriage and choice of spouse", "social issues " and " family issue” (p<0.05). However, no statistically significant difference was observed between the medical and non-medical students in terms of problems related to "burnout", "unexpected events such as natural disasters”, "different accidents" and "behavioral characteristics and habits, and health issues" (p>0.05). Conclusion: The results of present study can help managers in developing educational frameworks to improve and create a suitable educational environment, recognize and improve coping strategies among students and to provide effective education for parents in order to reduce the stressors of students.