Perceived stress in medical, law, and graduate students

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Abstract
Students in the medical and law schools and graduate students in chemistry and psychology at a single institution were asked to complete a questionnaire about events and activities related to their educational programs which they perceived to be stressful . The questionnaire was designed to elicit information about stress associated with academic activities , personal relationships , time pressures , and financial concerns . Information was also obtained about time utilization , health behaviors , crises , and support systems . The authors ' hypothesis that medical students would report higher perceived stress levels than students in the other programs was not supported , as the highest total stress score was reported by law students . Factor analysis of a 31-item stress scale produced six separate factors pertaining to the sources of stress : academic concerns , time concerns , fear of failing , classroom interactions , economic issues , and world issues . Time restrictions and economic and academic issues had the highest mean stress scores . The hypotheses by the authors that students would report program-specific stresses and that utilization of support services would differ among the four groups of students were both supported . Implications of these findings are discussed .

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