The Study on the Prevalence of Stressful Factors among Medical Students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in 2020

Introduction: To solve any problem, it is necessary to first recognize that problem and examine the factors affecting that issue; therefore, a detailed study of stressors can help us improve the quality of education and mental health of students. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in the academic year 2020-2021. The participants were chosen from medical students studying in various grades using convenient sampling method. The instrument used was the standard MSSQ which consists of 20 questions including 6 different dimensions: Stress Related to Academic Issues, Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Stress, Teaching and Learning Stress, Social Stress, Desire Stress, Group Activity Stress. Result: A total of 463 people participated in this study out of whom 51.4% (236 people) were male. Overall, 49% of students were in high/severe condition. The highest level of stress among all dimensions belongs to the stressors related to academic issues (63.5%) and the least stressful factor for students was desire-related stress (8.20%). There was a significant relationship between total stress and gender (higher in women than men). Conclusion: Considering that almost half of the students are in a high/severe state regarding stressful factors, effective training of students to manage stress and improve skills to reduce stress (e.g., by conducting workshops) would be promising.