Perceived stress and stressors among first-year undergraduate students at a private medical school in Nigeria

OBJECTIVES: Medical training has long been globally recognised as involving numerous stressors that can affect the well-being of students. This study, the first to be conducted among first-year medical students at a private university in Nigeria, aims to identify factors associated with students’ perceived stress. METHODS: An analytical cross-sectional design was employed. A semi-structured pretested and validated questionnaire was administered to first-year medical students. The data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 25.0. Descriptive and analytical statistics were presented as frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. The chi-square test was also used to identify the associations between categorical variables. RESULTS: The majority of the respondents were females (72.2%) and Christians (85.8%). Sixty seven percent of the participants perceived medical school as being stressful. More females than males were stressed. Statistically, ethnicity and intrapersonal factors were correlated with perceived stress. CONCLUSION: In this study, the prevalence of perceived stress among first-year medical undergraduate students was high. Students should be prepared on how to cope with stress by developing coping strategies such as healthy lifestyle patterns, availing of social support, engaging in physical activity, and seeking counselling when needed.