Comparing Students of Medical and Social Sciences in Terms of Self-Assessment of Perceived Stress, Quality of Life, and Personal Characteristics

Magda K Wielewska; Julia M Godzwon; Kacper Gargul; Emma Nawrocka; Kinga Konopka; Krzysztof Sobczak; Agata Rudnik; Agata Zdun-Ryzewska

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.815369

Comparing Students of Medical and Social Sciences in Terms of Self-Assessment of Perceived Stress, Quality of Life, and Personal Characteristics

Front Psychol. 2022 Apr 13:13:815369. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.815369. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Magda K Wielewska¹, Julia M Godzwon¹, Kacper Gargul¹, Emma Nawrocka¹, Kinga Konopka¹, Krzysztof Sobczak², Agata Rudnik^{1

3

4}, Agata Zdun-Ryzewska⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Social Sciences, Institute of Psychology, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.
² Department of Sociology of Medicine and Social Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.
³ Department of Gastroenterology, Independent Public Health Care of the Ministry of the Internal Affairs in Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.
⁴ Academic Psychological Support Center, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.
⁵ Department of Quality of Life Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare medical and social sciences students' outcomes in terms of self-perceived stress, quality of life, and personality traits. We put particular emphasis on external and internal differences in students of specific fields-medicine, nursing, psychology, and pedagogy. In a survey, 1,783 students from Medical University of Gdańsk and University of Gdańsk participated in our study, of whom 1,223 were included in the final statistical analysis. All of them were evaluated using valid and reliable questionnaires-TIPI-PL, PSS-10, and a one-item scale of quality of life. Stress turned out to have a negative effect on quality of life, regardless of the type of field of study. Moreover, students from different fields varied in terms of personality factors: conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness to experience, and emotional stability. In conclusion, many students regardless of their field suffer from high stress and report low quality of life, which potentially further affects their academic performance and social life.

Keywords: academic performance; mental health; personality; quality of life; students.