A Cross-sectional Analysis of Psychological Well-being and Academic Performance Among Undergraduate Medical Students in a Tertiary Care Medical College, Chennai
Vetrivel Murugavel, Srividya Kumarvel, Nivetha Rajaraman, Keerthana ArunagirinathanAbstract
Background:
Medical students are highly susceptible to psychological morbidity owing to the extensive academic workload and stress associated with medical training. Such psychological stress may influence their academic achievement and overall performance in medical school. This study was conducted to assess the psychological well-being of 3 rd -year undergraduate medical students and to examine its association with their academic performance.
Materials and Methods:
This cross-sectional study was carried out in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, in a tertiary care medical college and hospital from August to September 2022. After receiving approval from the Institutional Research Committee and Institutional Ethics Committee, the data were obtained using the World Health Organization Psychological Well-Being Index from 130 3 rd -year undergraduate medical students who fit the selection criteria and the internal assessment marks of the selected students from the Community Medicine Department. The Chi-square test as well as other descriptive statistics were carried out by SPSS version-20.
Results:
Sixty-six percent of students were between the ages of 20 and 21, with a mean age of 21.27 ± 1.06 years. Females made up 72% of the responses. Around 24% of students scored below 50% on the Well-Being Index. Psychological discomfort was higher (28%) among males than female students (22%). In the internal assessment examination, nearly 72% of participants scored <50%, with the total mean score for students being 41.62% ±15.12%. The academic achievement of 3 rd -year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery students, as measured in average (22%) and distinction grades (4%), was found to have a statistically significant association with their good and excellent psychological well-being ratings.
Conclusion:
This study demonstrated a significant association between academic achievement and psychological well-being among medical students in South India. Hence, in order to improve the academic performance of medical students, their psychological well-being needs to be given due consideration in the medical education curriculum and medical institutions to implement appropriate strategies to maintain positive mental health of the students.