There is not enough information in the literature about perceived stress among health professional students during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to determine the level of perceived stress and its determinants in Turkish undergraduate health professional students during the pandemic.
This cross-sectional, online survey study included 402 undergraduate health professional students. Data were collected using a personal information form, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Contentment with Life Assessment Scale, and the Ways of Coping Inventory. Descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney U test, Student's t-test, one-way analysis of variance, correlation coefficients, and linear regression analysis were used for data analysis.
The PSS mean score of the students was 32.95 ± 7.34, and 98.2% reported moderate-to-high levels of stress. The significant determinants of stress were younger age (unstandardized β = −0.23, p = 0.035), poor self-rated health (unstandardized β = 1.60, p = 0.005), the presence of sleep problems (unstandardized β = 1.22, p = 0.021), the history of direct contact with suspected COVID-19 patients or infected materials (unstandardized β = 5.82, p < 0.001), following the news about the pandemic closely (unstandardized β = 0.60, p = 0.041), lower life satisfaction (unstandardized β = −0.32, p < 0.001), and lower use of optimistic coping (unstandardized β = −3.24, p < 0.001) but greater use of helpless coping (unstandardized β = 3.31, p < 0.001). The regression model explained 57.6% of the variance in perceived stress.
The level of perceived stress was relatively high among health professional students. This study highlighted the need for psychological support to reduce the level of perceived stress in this population during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Citation: Belgüzar Kara. Determinants of perceived stress in health professional students during the COVID-19 pandemic[J]. AIMS Medical Science, 2021, 8(2): 147-162. doi: 10.3934/medsci.2021014
There is not enough information in the literature about perceived stress among health professional students during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to determine the level of perceived stress and its determinants in Turkish undergraduate health professional students during the pandemic.
This cross-sectional, online survey study included 402 undergraduate health professional students. Data were collected using a personal information form, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Contentment with Life Assessment Scale, and the Ways of Coping Inventory. Descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney U test, Student's t-test, one-way analysis of variance, correlation coefficients, and linear regression analysis were used for data analysis.
The PSS mean score of the students was 32.95 ± 7.34, and 98.2% reported moderate-to-high levels of stress. The significant determinants of stress were younger age (unstandardized β = −0.23, p = 0.035), poor self-rated health (unstandardized β = 1.60, p = 0.005), the presence of sleep problems (unstandardized β = 1.22, p = 0.021), the history of direct contact with suspected COVID-19 patients or infected materials (unstandardized β = 5.82, p < 0.001), following the news about the pandemic closely (unstandardized β = 0.60, p = 0.041), lower life satisfaction (unstandardized β = −0.32, p < 0.001), and lower use of optimistic coping (unstandardized β = −3.24, p < 0.001) but greater use of helpless coping (unstandardized β = 3.31, p < 0.001). The regression model explained 57.6% of the variance in perceived stress.
The level of perceived stress was relatively high among health professional students. This study highlighted the need for psychological support to reduce the level of perceived stress in this population during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Confident interval
Contentment with Life Assessment Scale
Coronavirus disease 2019
Perceived Stress Scale
Self-rated health
Ways of Coping Inventory
World Health Organization
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Belgüzar Kara. Determinants of perceived stress in health professional students during the COVID-19 pandemic[J]. AIMS Medical Science, 2021, 8(2): 147-162. doi: 10.3934/medsci.2021014
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