Comparative Characteristics for the Influence of Academic Stress on the Mental Health of the Medical and Pedagogical Senior Students

Objectives: academic stress negatively affects the students’ mental state, leading to loweracademic performance, reduction in the level of professional training, and success in the future.this study aims to investigate the medical and psychological status of senior students inmedical and pedagogical departments. we hope to propose some recommendations forpreventing maladaptation associated with stressful influencesmethods: this research is a descriptive and comparative study and investigates the mentalhealth of senior students. a consecutive sample of 192 fifth-year students was selected byconvenience sampling method. they were examined using the medico-sociological andpsychometric methods. there were 137 students of medical and 55 pedagogical students aged20-29 years (mean±sd=21.8±1.2 years; 142 women and 50 men). the participants completedthe test for academic stress, social phobia inventory, beck depression inventory-2, beckanxiety inventory, and depression, anxiety, and stress scale-21 (lovibond, lovibond). theobtained data were analyzed in spss software v. 16.results: there are many differences between the mental health status of the study groups.these differences comprise suicide ideation, suicide attempt, depression, and symptoms of social phobia. however, there were no differences between study groups regarding anxiety,high academic load, and disappointment in the profession, and manifestations of educationalstress, including fatigue and psychosomatic symptoms. the routine methods for overcomingstress were drinking alcohol (most often among medical students), smoking, and taking nonprescriptionsedatives, which was a risk factor for addictive behaviors.discussion: it is necessary to develop and implement psychoeducational programs for medicaland pedagogical students to acquire adaptive skills to overcome stress and reduce anxiety anddepression, eventually preventing the development of psychosomatic disorders and addictions.