Sources of stress, psychological well-being and health among dental students: a comparison between preclinical and clinical phases and between sexes

• Autor(a) principal: Muniz, Mariana Fernandes
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Outros Autores: Muniz, Francisco Wilker Mustafa Gomes, Rodrigues, Lidiany Karla Azevedo, Oliveira, Marcelo Bruno Lemos, Barros, Isadora Daniel, Carvalho, Rosimary Sousa
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por; eng
• Título da fonte: Revista da ABENO (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://revabeno.emnuvens.com.br/revabeno/article/view/830
• topic: Mental Health. Health. Occupational Stress. Dentistry students.; Saúde Mental. Saúde. Estresse Ocupacional. Estudantes de Odontologia.

The aim of this study was to evaluate psychological well-being, overall health, and sources of stress among dental students from four Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) programs, comparing the preclinical and clinical phases and sexes. Three instruments were applied: Dental Environment Stress (DES), Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWB) and Health Survey (SF-36), answered by 203 students, with 75 (37%) in the preclinical phase and 128 (63%) in the clinical one. Among them, 59 were male (29%) and 144 were female (71%). Comparisons were performed using the Mann-Whitney test, adopting a significance level of 5%. In the domains analyzed using DES (academic performance, difficulties and insecurities about their professional future, responsibilities with patients, personal and institutional factors, interpersonal relationships), preclinical students showed significantly lower scores than students enrolled in the clinical phases. For PGWB total score and in two domains (anxiety and general health), lower scores were also observed in preclinical students. Four domains of SF-36 (bodily pain, physical functioning, social functioning and role-physical) showed significantly better overall health for preclinical students. Among the sexes, two DES domains (academic performance and difficulties and insecurities about their professional future) showed lower stressors for males. PGWB showed a significant difference in four domains (depressed mood, self-control, general health and vitality), with better psychological well-being for males. Males showed better vitality in the SF-36 domain. Concluding, preclinical and male students showed lower sources of stress, better psychological well-being and better perception of their overall health.