Abstract
Introduction: Dentistry is considered as a highly demanding and stress oriented profession. Elevated stress levels due to prolonged workload may precipitate fatigue declining student performance. The aim of the present study was to assess the Perceived sources of stress among first year dental undergraduate students at a private institution in India and to investigate whether specific stressors were related to age and gender.
Materials and Methods: It was a Descriptive, Epidemiological, Institution based Cross-sectional study. A modified dental environment stress (DES) questionnaire was administered to 84 First year dental students to assess the levels of stress.
Results: The first major stressor for all students was lack of time for relaxation with a mean score of 2.35 (SD 0.85) followed by examination and grades, Lack of time to do assigned college work, Full working day, Late ending time and Fear of unable to catch up if getting behind the work. Amongst the six highest stressors in each year, four were Workload related. There was a significant difference in stress perception in the “Other” category between genders with a predilection for males. In the category “Self Efficacy beliefs”, the stress perception of students from Nuclear family was significantly greater than that of Joint family. (p<0.05)
Conclusion: The primary sources of stress as perceived by 84 students at one private dental school in India were increased workload and Performance pressure. This study would contribute to enhance students’ stress-bearing skills and help in deciding future course of action through counselling and psychiatric support systems.
Keywords: First year BDS students, Questionnaire based study, Modified Dental Environment Stress (DES) Questionnaire.
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Corresponding Author
Dr Mandrita Chatterjee
Assistant Professor (Grade I), Physiology, Dr B C Roy Multi Speciality Medical Research Centre, IIT Kharagpur, India
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v12i05.02
