Arnold Annika, Gaum Petra Maria, Lang Jessica
Institute for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Med Sci Educ. 2024 Dec 18;35(2):807-822. doi: 10.1007/s40670-024-02240-4. eCollection 2025 Apr.
In recent years, studies have highlighted that stress levels among medical students are alarmingly high. The study aim was to examine how academic stress and depressive symptoms in medical students are affected by individual moderators (self-efficacy/optimism) and structural influencing factors (health promotion offers).
Data collection occurred at three measurement points during the first 1.5 years at a medical school in Germany [baseline measurement (BM; Winter 2019, 226 participants), follow-up measurement 1 (FUM1; Summer 2020, 106 participants) and follow-up measurement 2 (FUM2; Winter 2020, 107 participants)]. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted with the data of FUM1 and FUM2, BM being only cross-sectionally analyzed as a baseline measurement. Interactions were calculated cross-sectionally with multiple linear regressions, and longitudinally with mixed effects models.
Academic stress was positively correlated with depressive symptoms cross-sectionally. In the longitudinal sample, optimism was found to moderate the association between academic stress and depressive symptoms, while the moderating effect of self-efficacy was found cross-sectionally for FUM2. "University sports offers" was the most-used health promotion offer for both FUM1 and FUM2. The other services, especially "psychological counseling", were rarely used by the students. The prevalence of depressive symptoms increased during the study course (BM: 4.9%; FUM1: 25.5%; FUM2: 23.4%).
The increase of depressive symptoms linked to rising academic stress within the study course is alarming. Individual attributes such as optimism and self-efficacy have a moderating role on the relationship between academic stress and depressive symptoms and prevention offers may affect those individual attributes..
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-024-02240-4.
近年来，研究强调医学生的压力水平高得惊人。本研究旨在探讨个体调节因素（自我效能感/乐观主义）和结构影响因素（健康促进服务）如何影响医学生的学业压力和抑郁症状。
在德国一所医学院的前1.5年中的三个测量点进行数据收集[基线测量（BM；2019年冬季，226名参与者）、随访测量1（FUM1；2020年夏季，106名参与者）和随访测量2（FUM2；2020年冬季，107名参与者）]。对FUM1和FUM2的数据进行横断面和纵向分析，BM仅作为基线测量进行横断面分析。通过多元线性回归进行横断面交互作用计算，并通过混合效应模型进行纵向交互作用计算。
横断面分析中，学业压力与抑郁症状呈正相关。在纵向样本中，发现乐观主义调节学业压力与抑郁症状之间的关联，而在FUM2的横断面分析中发现自我效能感有调节作用。“大学体育活动”是FUM1和FUM2中使用最多的健康促进服务。其他服务，尤其是“心理咨询”，学生很少使用。在研究过程中，抑郁症状的患病率有所增加（BM：4.9%；FUM1：25.5%；FUM2：23.4%）。
在研究过程中，与学业压力增加相关的抑郁症状增加令人担忧。乐观主义和自我效能感等个体特质对学业压力与抑郁症状之间的关系有调节作用，预防措施可能会影响这些个体特质。
在线版本包含可在10.1007/s40670-024-02240-4获取的补充材料。
