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Conflict resolution strategies and their association with perceived stress among German medical students: a
Rebecca Reichel1, Teresa Festl-Wietek2, Tobias Albrecht2
1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tuebingen, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.
Background:
Effective conflict management is essential in medical teams to maintain collaboration and ensure high-quality patient care. While teamwork, self-reflection, and conflict management are recognized as important competencies in medical education, little is known about the conflict resolution strategies used by medical students or how these strategies are associated with perceived stress, particularly within the context of German medical education. Conflicts in medical training may increase stress and impair teamwork, highlighting the need for targeted educational interventions.
Aim:
This study examined conflict resolution strategies among medical students and their association with perceived stress.
Methods:
A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 219 ninth-semester medical students at the Medical Faculty of Tübingen, Germany. The German versions of the Conflict Inventory and the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-20) were used to measure conflict management styles and stress levels. Data analysis included generalized ordinal regression analysis.
Results:
Students predominantly preferred integrative conflict resolution strategies such as collaboration (mean score = 4.2, SD = 0.5) and compromise (mean score = 3.9, SD = 0.6), whereas competing was the least preferred strategy (mean score = 2.7, SD = 0.8). In the regression analysis, team conflicts were associated with higher levels of perceived stress (B = 3.670, ß = 0.23, p < 0.001) during undergraduate medical training, and individual conflict resolution tendencies influenced perceived stress levels, with a greater tendency to compromise contributing to lower perceived stress (B = -5.612, ß = -0.180, p = 0.025).
Conclusion:
Conflict resolution tendencies are associated with perceived stress among medical students. Integrating reflective conflict management training into medical curricula may support teamwork competencies and stress reduction. Further research should examine the long-term impact of such interventions.
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