Personal and behavioral variables related to perceived stress of second-year medical students

A study of second-year medical students was conducted to determine if selected personal and behavioral variables are related to the perceived amount of stress. Medical students from seven medical schools (N = 555) responded to a mailed questionnaire that assessed their degree of academic, personal, and professional stress. Factors that significantly related to amount of academic stress were general satisfaction with life, sex of student, physical activity, alcohol use, hours of sleep per night, and total number of recent losses and misfortunes. Factors that significantly related to amount of personal stress were general satisfaction with life, sex of student, drug use, number of sensation-seeking sports and total number of recent losses and misfortunes. Although measured, professional stress was not considered an important component of a second-year medical student's educational experience.