The root of the problem: identifying major sources of stress in Brazilian medical students and developing the Medical Student Stress Factor Scale

Objectives: To investigate the most common sources of stress faced by medical students and the degree to which different stressors impact their lives. As a secondary objective, a new instrument, Medical Student Stress Factor Scale (MSSF), was developed based on these stressors. Methods: The MSSF was applied to 431 medical students. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale was administered to investigate the relationship between these stressors and the students’ mental health. Results: The five greatest stressors were the extensive content, lack of time to study, sleep deprivation, excessive self-pressure for good grades, and lack of leisure time. The MSSF showed good psychometric characteristics, resulting in a 28-item scale with five subscales. The Relationships and Health subscales were associated with depressive symptoms; Relationships, Health, and Learning Environment/Academic Performance were associated with anxiety symptoms, while Health, and Learning Environment/Academic Performance were associated with stress symptoms. Conclusions: Our study presents important data about the most important stressors that affect medical students’ lives and cause mental health issues. The factors are generally related to academic performance and the learning environment and should be targeted in future interventions.