Resilience and Psychological Distress in Psychology and Medical Students

Objective: The authors investigated levels of resilience and psychological distress in medical and psychology students, factors that may affect these levels, the relationship between resilience and psychological distress, and student opinion on causes of stress and possible interventions. Methods: A voluntary anonymous online survey was distributed to University of Adelaide medical and psychology students. Results: Medical and psychology students (n = 560; response rate = 24.7%) had similar mean resilience and psychological distress scores, and 47.9% of medical students and 55.1% of psychology students were psychologically distressed. Higher levels of resilience were associated with lower levels of distress (p < 0.001). Students supported resilience-based interventions, greater financial support, clearer learning objectives and more continuous assessment as potential means to reduce the effects of stress. Conclusions: Higher levels of resilience were associated with lower levels of psychological distress. Further studies are required to determine the efficacy of resilience-based interventions in these groups.