[Prevalence of depressive symptoms, ways of coping, and related factors among medical school and health services higher education students].

OBJECTIVE

The aims of this study were to explore the prevalence of depressive symptoms, ways of coping, and their relationships to sociodemographic variables among students of the Medical Faculty (MF) and the Health Services Higher Education School (HSHES) at Inönü University.

METHOD

The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Styles of Coping Inventory (SCI), and a sociodemographic questionnaire were used.

RESULTS

Among the HSHES students (n = 128), the prevalence of depressive symptoms was higher. The MF students whose fathers had a higher level of education had higher BDI scores. The MF students from families with lower levels of income had a higher frequency of depressive symptoms. In both groups, the students with previous histories of psychiatric and physical ilness had higher BDI scores. Among the MF students, older age (OR = 2.72), and among the HSHES students, having a previous history of psychiatric disorder (OR = 5.25) and female gender (OR = 1.85) affected the prevalence of depressive symptoms. The HSHES students used passive styles of coping more frequently. Active coping styles were used more frequently by the male students in both groups. The HSHES students whose mothers had lower levels of education, had higher passive coping style scores; active coping styles and higher family income correlated positively. In both groups, BDI and active styles scores correlated positively. Passive styles were used more frequently by male and female students that had a higher frequency of depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSION

The rate of mental health problems was quite high among the students. Preventive mental health programs should be developed and implemented.