Introduction: Female physicians, residents and medical students commonly suffer from stress. In a preliminary study, high levels of depressive symptoms were found among female medical students at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Objectives: To examine whether social support moderates the effect of depressive symptoms on physical symptoms.
Methods: A total of 145 female medical students and residents from all the Israeli medical schools were assessed regarding their depressive symptoms, social support and physical symptoms.
Results: Depressive symptoms significantly predicted physical symptoms. In addition, a significant 2-way interaction was found between depressive symptoms and social support in predicting physical symptoms: among participants high on depressive symptoms, increased social support significantly predicted decreased physical symptoms.
Conclusions: Female medical students may silence or hide depressive symptoms that might be expressed by physical symptoms. In addition, social support inside and outside the medical system may serve as a way to reduce depressive and physical symptoms among female medical students, interns and residents.