Psychological disorders and coping strategies among undergraduate medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: Medical students are commonly considered a vulnerable public to the emergence of mental disorders. In the COVID-19 pandemic context, recent evidence suggests that the COVID-19 crisis may have affected the medical student’s mental health. Objective: We aimed to investigate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in undergraduate medical students, the associated factors, and the relationship between coping strategies and psychological symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Method: This is a cross-section study with 141 undergraduate medical students from a public medical school in Brazil. The student’s mental health was assessed with the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the coping strategies were assessed with the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced inventory (Brief COPE). Data were collected from December 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, through the Google Form platform. Descriptive analysis, chi-square, multivariate Poisson regression, and Spearman’s correlation were performed. Result: Regarding the students’ mental health, 78 (55.3%; 95%CI: 47.1-63.3) were categorized as having depression symptoms, 71 (50.4%, 95%CI: 42.2-58.5) as having anxiety symptoms, and 86 (61%; 95%CI: 52.8-68.7) as having stress symptoms. About the associated factors, skin color/race had an association with depression and stress, year of the course had an association with stress only, history of psychological/psychiatry treatment had an association with anxiety and stress and self-rated mental health had an association with depression, anxiety, and stress. In relation to the coping strategies, problem-focused strategies had no significant correlations with depression, anxiety, and stress. Emotion-focused strategies had a weak negative correlation with depression only. Avoidance strategies had a moderate positive correlation with depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusion: Overall, our results show high prevalence rates of depression, anxiety, and stress in Brazilian undergraduate medical students and the significant relationship between coping strategies and the presence of psychological impairment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords

• Medical students
• Mental Health
• Health Profile
• Coping Strategies and COVID-19