PriMera Scientific Medicine and Public Health (ISSN: 2833-5627)

Research Article

Volume 6 Issue 6

A Study of Stressful Life Events and Pattern of Substance use Among Medical Students: A Cross Sectional Study

Ayisha Rana, Abbas Mehdi*, Vighnesh K. Singh, Aditi Jain and Parul Prasad

June 04, 2025

DOI : 10.56831/PSMPH-06-219

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Abstract

Introduction: The medical program is one of the most demanding academic programs in the world, which has a detrimental impact on medical students' mental and physical health. Stress among students jeopardizes their perceptions and leads to maladaptive practices like addiction to substances, self-medication, and absenteeism.

Objective: To correlate stressful life events and patterns of substance use among Indian medical student.

Methods: A cross-sectional randomized study was conducted involving 250 medical students. Participants were given four self-administered scales to assess stressful life events and substance use patterns in them. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS v29.0 to determine the correlation of stressful life events and patterns of substance use among Indian medical students.

Results: In this study 34.0% of medical students were found to be substance users. Stressful Life Event Scale scores were compared in the substance users (10.79±5.37) and the non-substance users (9.27±5.03), with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). A significant positive correlation was observed between substance use and the stressful life event scale score (p=0.031), suggesting that higher stressful life event scores were associated with an increased likelihood of substance use.

Conclusions: This study confirms that high educational stress among medical students is linked with psychological morbidity and substance abuse, highlighting the need for regular mental health screening and targeted interventions in medical schools.

Keywords: Stressful life events; substance use; medical students

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