Comparative Characteristic for the Influence of Academic Stress to the Mental Health State of the Medical and Pedagogical Senior Students

Academic stress negatively affects the students’ mental state, leads to deterioration in academic performance, a decrease in the level of professional training and success in the future. This study has aimed to analyze the medical and psychological status of medical and pedagogical senior students to develop recommendations for the prevention of maladaptation associated with stressful influences.

This research is a descriptive and comparative study. It has investigated the mental health status of the senior students. A continuous sample of 192 fifth-year students was selected by convenience sampling. They examined by using the medico-sociological and psychometric methods. There were 137 students of medical and 55 pedagogical students aged 20-29 (21.8 ± 1.2) years, 142 females and 50 males. Participants competed the test for academic stress (Shcherbatykh, 2006), Social Phobia Inventory (Connor et al. 2000), Beck Depression Inventory-2 (Beck et al. 1996), Beck Anxiety Inventory (Beck et al. 1988), and depression anxiety, and stress sacle-21 (Lovibond, Lovibond). Data were analyzed by SPSS-16.

It was found that there are many differences between the mental health status of the participants of the study groups. It includes suicide ideation, suicide attempt, depression, and symptoms of social phobia; but there were no differences between anxiety, high academic load and disappointment in the profession, and manifestations of educational stress in both groups include fatigue and psychosomatic symptoms. Significant methods for overcoming stress were drinking alcohol (most often among medical students), smoking and taking non-prescription sedatives, which is a risk factor for addictive behavior.

It requires the development and implementation of psycho-correctional programs for medical and pedagogical students aimed at the formation of adaptive ways to overcome stress, reduce anxiety and depression, which will prevent the development of psychosomatic disorders and addictions.