Mental health of medical students: a cohort study

Abstract

Studies have shown that medical students are a group particularly vulnerable to psychological distress. A complex and still not enough answered question is what the contribution from medical school to this problem and what works as risk and protective factor. In the Botucatu Medical School (UNESP) a series of cross-sectional studies was carried out, and was found an association between psychological distress and social supporting network, which could not allowed inferring causality. The present study was designed to investigate the relationship between psychological distress and factors related to the course, among others. Structured instruments were used and it was investigated: demographic characteristics, psychosocial support network, common mental disorder, alcohol use, obsessive-compulsive, social-phobic symptoms and educational environment. (AU)