[Emotional distress in Israeli medical students]

Increased distress in medical students has been previously documented. However, causal relationship between putative, nh stress factors and emotional state has not yet been determined. Moreover, most data concerning mental health of medical students has been acquired in the USA.

A list of conceivable stress factors and the Brief Symptom Inventory were used to identify specific loci of stress and examine levels of distress among first, third and fifth year Israeli medical students.

Levels of mental distress in all subjects were higher than population norms, with the highest levels in the third (of six) year of Medical Faculty. Predefined stress factors were capable of accounting for most of the variance in medical student distress, although specific factors differed between year and gender.

Considering medical students' reluctance to utilize mental health services, the attempt to modify stress-eliciting elements inherent to the Medical Faculty environment is particularly warranted.