ROLE OF STRESS AND SELF-ESTEEM IN ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF
MEDICAL STUDENTS
Authors: Gowda N R Vikram , H Sri Harsha , Chacko Jiyo , C N Nirmala 
Published: May 2021

Background: Deterioration in performance of students in medical college is raising concern. One of the reasons is compromise in mental state
which is due to stress and it is one of the concerns in present world which needs urgent attention. Many studies have reected that emotional
problems are one of the major concerns in higher education which leads to psychological abnormalities like anxiety and depression. Thus early
identication and intervention for students having psychological distress would prevent the long term failure in the educational task desired from
them at the end of course.
Objectives: To assess psychological state among undergraduate medical students measured by general health questionnaire and Rosenberg scale
of self-esteem and to correlate their academic performance with the present psychological status.
Methods:Adescriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among MBBS students across different phases studying in medical college in central
Kerala. The questionnaire included general information and specic information like regarding stay in hostel, hours of study per day, recreational
activity, family matters and nancial situation. Psychological wellbeing was assessed using General Health Questionnaire–12. Ascore of ≥15 was
considered as an indicator of psychological stressful situation. Self-esteem wellbeing was assessed by Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale according to
which any score <20 was considered as low self-esteem. The summative assessment (University examination) marks pattern in theory, viva and
practical's were considered as measure for academic performance.
Results: 338 students from different phases belonging to different year of admission from 2012 to 2015 participated in the study. The mean age
group of sample was 20.96±1.49 years among them 73% were female students. In 118 students General Health Questionnaire score was less than
15 but the difference in sample across the group was not statistically signicant, similarly 207 students had score less than 20 in Rosenberg selfesteem scale where the difference in the score among the group was not statistically signicant. Only in 2012 batch students, a statistically
signicant negative correlation was observed between the mean scores of general health questionnaire with academic performance (Mean GHQ
score 16.42, r value -0.2, p value 0.018) and a statistically signicant positive correlation was observed between low self-esteem with academic
performance (Mean RSE score 18.41, r value 0.23, p value 0.03). In all other batch although GHQ score did not correlate with academic
performance but self-esteem score was statistically signicant in batch of 2014.
Conclusion: Our study supports that as stress increases, the academic performance decreases hence GHQ and RSE should be used among students
with poor academic performance to rule out psychological distress and low self-condence. Every college should be provided a cell to monitor the
psychological status of students periodically and intervene if required.