Abstract
Introduction: Medical students report higher levels of anxiety than students from other majors. Knowledge about their psychological well-being is scarce. Objective: To identify sociodemographic and academic factors that predict the level of anxiety and psychological well-being in Mexican medical students. Method: Cross-sectional study of Mexican medical students of first (n = 59), third (n = 43) and fifth semester (n = 59), who answered a sociodemographic questionnaire, Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Psychological Well-being Scale for adults and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale. Results: Females showed higher levels of anxiety (p < 0.01). Anxiety in males was similar in the different semesters (p > 0.05); women of third and fifth semesters were more anxious than those at first semester (p < 0.01). Anxiety and psychological well-being were negatively correlated (p <0.001). The “Less anxiety, higher level of well-being” and “More anxiety, lower well-being” subgroups were characterized, and a logistic regression identified that being a woman (OR = 4.70) and not prac-ticing any religion (OR = 2.49) are predictive factors of higher levels of anxiety. Conclusions: Female medical students constitute a population at risk for higher levels of anxiety and less psychological well-being, which compromises their learning, quality of life and future professional practice.
Translated title of the contribution | Academic and sociodemographic predictors of anxiety and psychological well-being in mexican medical students. A cross-sectional study |
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Original language | English |
Pages (from-to) | 38-44 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Gaceta Medica de Mexico |
Volume | 156 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Jan 2020 |
Keywords
- Gender differences
- Medical students
- Mental health
- Predictive factors