Perceived academic stress in Mexican medical students. The role of sex emotional distress, burnout, academic-social support, current abuse experiences, and coping strategies

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.