Medical students’ coping with stress and its predictors: a cross-sectional study
Julia Cummerow, Katrin Obst, Edgar Voltmer, Thomas Kötter
Abstract
Objectives: To analyse stress coping styles of medical students at different time points of medical education and to identify predictors of functional coping. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students (N = 497, 361 women and 136 men) before year one (n = 141), after year one (n = 135) and after year five (n = 220). Students answered the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory, the Work-Related Behaviour and Experience Patterns, the Perceived Medical School Stress Instrument and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Multiple regression was used to examine factors associated with functional coping. Results: = 4.87, p < .01) were positive predictors of functional coping. Conclusions: Scores for both functional and dysfunctional coping vary during medical education. The reasons for low coping scores after year one require further explanation. These findings represent a starting point for investigations into how to promote functional coping during early medical education.