The Prevalence and Severity of Depression, Anxiety and Stress as Well as Coping Strategies Used by Medical Undergraduate Students Enrolled in Arsi University: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Every individual has a certain number of coping resources, and once these coping resources are challenged, mental illness usually results.ObjectiveWe aimed to determine the prevalence and severity of depression, anxiety and stress as well as coping strategies used by medical undergraduate students enrolled in Arsi University.MethodsInstitutional based cross-sectional design was conducted on 265 sampled medical students. Participants were selected by systematic random sampling technique. Data were collected by pre-tested, structured and self-administrated questionnaire. Afterwards, logistic regression analysis was employed and statistical significance was accepted at p<0.05. ResultIn the present study 5 questionnaires were rejected for incompleteness, resulting in a response rate of 98.1%. The current prevalence rate of depression, anxiety and stress were 52.3%, 60.8% and 40.4% respectively. The proportion of respondents who had extremely severe symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress were 6.2%, 16.2% and 2.3% respectively. Depression was specifically associated with a monthly income and residency. Anxiety was significantly associated with residency and educational level. Stress was associated with a monthly income, educational level and residency. The main coping strategy adopted by respondents was religion. In particular, the coping mechanisms of denial, substance use, behavioral disengagement, venting, self-blame were significantly associated to DAS. ConclusionOverall prevalence rate of depression, anxiety and stress is alarmingly high. Therefore, implementing stress reduction interventions and establishing student counseling center is highly recommended.