1. The prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms from an Arabian setting: A wake up call.
- Author
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Al-faris, E. A., Irfan, F., Van Der Vleuten, C. P. M., Naeem, Naghma, Alsalem, A., Alamiri, N., Alraiyes, T., Alfowzan, M., Alabdulsalam, A., Ababtain, A., Aljabab, S., Bukhari, M., Alsinaidi, O., and Alofaisan, Y.
- Subjects
SCHOOL environment ,CHI-squared test ,MENTAL depression ,MEDICAL schools ,PSYCHOLOGY of medical students ,PSYCHOLOGICAL tests ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,SEX distribution ,CLINICAL competence ,TEACHING methods ,CROSS-sectional method ,DATA analysis software ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,EDUCATION ,PSYCHOLOGY - Abstract
It has been shown that medical students have a higher rate of depressive symptoms than the general population and age- and sex-matched peers. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms among the medical students of a large school following a traditional curriculum and its relation to personal background variables. A descriptive-analytic, cross-sectional study was conducted in a medical school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The medical students of King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were screened for depressive symptoms using the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory. A high prevalence of depressive symptoms (48.2%%) was found, it was either mild (21%%), moderate (17%%), or severe (11%%). The presence and severity of depressive symptoms had a statistically significant association with early academic years ( p < 0.000) and female gender ( p < 0.002). The high prevalence of depressive symptoms is an alarming sign and calls for remedial action, particularly for the junior and female students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2012
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