Academic climate and psychopathological symptomatology in Spanish medical students

Medical Education studies suggest that medical students experience depression, anxiety and psychopathological symptomatology in a proportion higher than in the rest of the population. In the present study, we aimed to conduct a nationwide analysis to describe student's perceptions of Educational Climate in Spanish medical schools, and its relationship with psychopathological symptomatology.

The study was carried out in 2022 in all 44 medical schools in Spain, and analyses the academic climate, and psychopathological symptomatology among medical students (n = 4374). To measure these variables, we used the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) for academic climate, and the SA-45 (Symptom Assessment-45 Questionnaire was used to assess psychopathological symptomatology.

The mean DREEM global score was low, 95.8 (SD 22.6). Worse perception of the academic climate has been found in females (t -2.21, p 0.027), in students of the clinical academic years (t 16.9, p < 0.001), and public medical schools ( t 15.6, p < 0.001). The SA45 general index score was high (p90) in 25.6% of participants. In respect of gender, female students presented higher levels of SA45 general index score, depression, interpersonal sensitivity, somatization, anxiety, obsession-compulsion, and phobic anxiety symptoms. Higher DREEM global and subscale scores corresponded to a higher SA-45 global index score and higher SA-45 subscale scores.

Our study suggests a correlation between a poor perception of academic climate, increased depression, anxiety, and other psychopathological symptoms, with a pattern that varies between different faculties. The perception of academic climate varied between medical schools, as did the psychopathological symptoms scores. Our finding suggests the prevalence of these variables in medical students is, at least in part, attributable to factors directly related to the learning atmosphere.