Gender as an underestimated factor in mental health of medical students
Burger PHM, Scholz M (2018)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2018
Journal
Book Volume: 218
Pages Range: 1-6
DOI: 10.1016/j.aanat.2018.02.005
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In Germany, currently two out of three medical students are female. Several studies corroborate that medical students show a significantly higher prevalence of stress-related mental disorders than the population in general. AIMS: We aimed to evaluate, if gender has an influence on the distribution of mental stress parameters and learning style among male and female medical students. METHODS: We investigated a total of 758 students of the medical faculty at the University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, Germany, using standardized and validated psychological questionnaires on depressive symptoms (BDI-II), burnout (BOSS-II) and quality of life (SF-12). In addition, we screened the students for their learning styles according to Kolb. RESULTS: Out of 723 participants who declared their gender, 57.8% were female and 37.6% were male. Female students showed significantly higher values for depressiveness as well as for emotional and cognitive burnout, whereas the mental quality of life was significantly lower. A considerably higher percentage of male students with a converging or an accommodating learning style were found in comparison to their female fellows. CONCLUSIONS: We postulate that an adaptation of the medical curriculum content to the investigated factors may contribute to a higher mental stability and less stress-related symptoms in medical students.
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APA:
Burger, P.H.M., & Scholz, M. (2018). Gender as an underestimated factor in mental health of medical students. Annals of Anatomy-Anatomischer Anzeiger, 218, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aanat.2018.02.005
MLA:
Burger, P. H. M., and Michael Scholz. "Gender as an underestimated factor in mental health of medical students." Annals of Anatomy-Anatomischer Anzeiger 218 (2018): 1-6.
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