A Comparative Study of Perceived Stress among Female Medical and Non-Medical University Students in Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Objectives: the objective of this study was to investigate any differences between female undergraduate medical and non-medical students for: 1) prevalence and causes of perceived academic stress, and 2) changes in physical, mental, psychological and emotional health as well as life-style since starting college studies. methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted at dammam university, dammam, saudi arabia, in january 2008. all 319 pre-clinical female medical students were included in the study and 297 non-medical students from the college of applied studies and community services (cascs) were selected by stratified random sampling. the study instrument was a questionnaire on the “influence of studying on students’ health”. results: more medical students (48.6%) reported being frequently stressed due to studies than cascs students (38.7%, p <0.01). unsuitable teaching methods, an unsatisfactory study environment, and fear of failure in examinations were more frequently mentioned by medical than non-medical students (p <0.05). while underlying social problems were significantly more common in medical students, economic problems were more prevalent among cascs students (p <0.05, p <0.05). more medical than non-medical students reported a worse status of physical and mental health, anxiety and depression and negative life-style changes since initiation of the college programme. conclusion: medical students were at higher risk of physical and mental health problems than non-medical students due to academic stress. since a substantial proportion of cascs students also experienced academic stress, we recommend that a student support committee be established for both colleges to provide counselling and guidance in healthy ways to cope with stress.