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Mental health and help seeking behaviour in first year medical students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

V. Rutkauskas ,
J. Akavickas ,
A. Matuzaite  and
S. Lesinskiene
V. Rutkauskas*
Affiliation:
Institute Of Health Sciences, Department Of Public Health, Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius, Lithuania Institute Of Clinical Medicine, Clinic Of Psychiatry, Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius, Lithuania
J. Akavickas
Affiliation:
Faculty Of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
A. Matuzaite
Affiliation:
Faculty Of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
S. Lesinskiene
Affiliation:
Institute Of Clinical Medicine, Clinic Of Psychiatry, Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius, Lithuania
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Mental health challenges are common among medical students. Data shows that that they are less likely to use mental health services, regardless of experiencing frequent mental health issues.

Objectives

The aim of our study was to evaluate first year medical students’ mental health state and attitude to seeking help.

Methods

The target group was the first year medical students in Vilnius University. Anonymous questionnaire created by authors was used to evaluate socio-demographic data, self-perceived emotional state level, attitudes and accessibility to mental health services. The study involved 152 first year medical students: 97 of them were local and 55 international students.

Results

The majority of students (71.7%) reported that their studies negatively impacted their emotional condition. 14.5% of all students thought that they needed a consultation by mental health specialist, but decided not to seek help. 11.2% of students reported having used psychotropic drugs which had not been officially prescribed by a psychiatrist. 18.4% of all students thought that seeing a mental health specialist could negatively affect their future career as a doctor. 30.9% of students reported that they had used alcohol to improve their emotional state, 11.2% of students had used cannabis, 4.6% of students had used other drugs (e.g. LSD, amphetamine, cocaine) for this purpose.

Conclusions

1. Majority first year medical students think that the begining of studies have negative impact on their emotional well-being. 2. A large number of medical students unwilling to see mental health specialist. 3. Significant number of students use psychoactive substances to improve their emotional state.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

mental healthMedical Studentsstressmental health stigma
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S760 - S761
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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