Assessing stressors and coping styles in medical sciences students

Education is a full stress experiment, especially in medical fields. So, having knowledge to its resources and how deal to it, is very important.

The aim of this study was to determine stressors and coping styles in in medical sciences students in Iranshahr city in 2010.

This study was a descriptive-analytic (cross sectional) study. The sample were 250 students of nursing, midwifery and medical emergency who studied in Nursing and Midwifery College in Iranshahr (April- June 2010).Data collected by researcher-made questionnaire (included demographic characteristics, stressors and supportive systems) and Jalowice Coping Styles Questionnaire. Content validity determined by ten faculty members. The validity of researcher-made questionnaire approved by internal consistency reliability (Chronbach’s alpha) (α = 0.64).And for Jalowice questionnaire correlation coefficient of test and retest after one month was (r=0.87).Data were collected in one time occasion and individually. Data analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation test by SPSS16 and(p< 0.05) has determined.

The most stressor in samples was unknown future (13.6%).The main source of support was family (89.2%) and the most common coping styles were emotional-centered coping styles(47.11±9.42in good range)versus problem–centered coping styles(31.39±6.81 in weak range). Based on T-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation, there was significant correlation between emotional –centered coping styles and live parents (p=0.025) and sex (p=0.00). There was significant correlation between problem-centered styles and level of education (p=0.00), sex (p=0.00) and age (p=0.00).

There are various stressors in students’ life personally and educationally. In order to prevent physical and psychological destructive effects of stress on students, it is necessary to introduce them counseling services in city and universities, and also training courses programs of copying styles suggest for them.