Academic stressors and coping strategies among MBBS students: a cross-sectional, year-wise comparative study

Medical students experience high levels of stress that vary across different phases of training. Identifying specific stressors and the ways students cope with them is essential for designing meaningful and targeted interventions.

To assess and compare stressors and coping mechanisms among MBBS students across different academic years.

A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted among MBBS students and interns at a tertiary medical institute using the Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ) and Brief COPE. Domain-wise stress severity and coping strategies were analyzed. Inferential statistics included Kruskal-Wallis tests with post-hoc comparisons, chi-square analysis for stress severity distribution, and Spearman correlation to examine associations between stress and coping.

Academic-related stress was the only stress domain that differed significantly across academic years (H = 48.72, p < 0.001), with final-year students reporting the highest stress levels. Distribution of stress severity differed significantly across domains (χ² = 364.60, p < 0.001), with academic stress accounting for a greater proportion of high and severe stress categories. Problem-focused coping showed the highest overall mean scores, but coping strategies did not significantly differ across academic years. Weak positive correlations were observed between overall stress levels and problem-focused (ρ = 0.232), emotion-focused (ρ = 0.266), and avoidant coping (ρ = 0.277) (all p < 0.001).

Academic-related stress represents the primary domain showing meaningful variation across stages of medical training, particularly in final-year students. Coping patterns appear relatively stable across academic years, with higher stress associated with increased use of coping behaviors overall. These findings provide a statistically grounded basis for future longitudinal research and targeted strategies addressing academic stress in medical education.