Perceived Stress and Satisfaction with Life Among Basic Sciences Medical Students: A Single Center Study

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this study was to measure the frequency of perceived stress and life satisfaction among basic sciences students as well as to determine the association between perceived stress and life satisfaction.
Materials And Methods: From June to September 2022, a cross-sectional study was conducted among basic sciences students of 1st and 2nd Professionals. The sampling was done through non-probability convenient sampling. From a target population of 1200, a sample size of 177 was calculated using Raosoft. Questionnaires which included the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and Satisfaction with Life Scale were distributed among the students. Descriptive analysis (frequencies ± SD) and correlation were analyzed using
SPSS version 21.
Results: A significant negative correlation ®= -0.337; p= 0.000) was found between perceived stress and life satisfaction. Among the surveyed students, 70.3% (n=130) reported moderate perceived stress levels, and 31.4% (n=58) had moderate satisfaction levels based on the Satisfaction with Life Scale.
Conclusion: Perceived stress and life satisfaction correlated negatively with each other depicting that when perceived stress increases, satisfaction with life decreases. Overall, stress levels are greater than life satisfaction among medical students.