SJSCIENCE
ISSUE 63, SUMMER 2023
Understanding Anxiety and Psychological Distress in Medical Students
Attending School in the Caribbean: A Systematic Review
Rose Ramsarran, Saher Butt, Sreekar Kanaparti, Jatia Sylvester, Yesennia Salinas, and Mariolga Masa-Pereira
Mentor: Dr. Aisha Andrewin
Distress and anxiety are emotional suffering that affects a person's well-being. Distress is caused by unpleasant and undesirable events that are seen as threatening or life-altering. Anxiety is caused by stress and fear of the future. Both distress and anxiety can have similar symptoms.
It is widely accepted that most medical students enter medical school with normal levels of anxiety and psychological distress. It is also established that all medical students worldwide have higher rates of stress and mental health problems than their matched peers. Some stress can trigger or contribute to anxiety. Distress, on the other hand, is the effect of an unpleasant and undesirable experience, usually the result of events that are seen as threatening or life-altering.
Established common risk factors are perfectionist and neurotic traits, academic workload, sleep issues, exposure to illness and death of patients, culture, and parenting styles.
What is the significance of physical and emotional risk factors unique for Caribbean students – like climate change, separation anxiety etc.?
Identifying students in psychological distress is associated with poor academic performance, decreased empathy, medical errors, depression, anxiety, and suicidality. Understanding the specificities of the causes and risk factors may be an important step in adjusting the management of students’ suffering and bringing back well-being and success in this (and other) specific demographic.