title: Medical Students' Stress, Psychological Morbidity, and Coping Strategies: a Cross-Sectional Study from Pakistan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The authors studied the prevalence of psychological morbidity, sources and severity of stresses, as well as coping strategies in Pakistani medical students.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical students in Lahore, Pakistan, completed a cross-sectional, self-administered questionnaire in 2013 on the sources and severity of various stressors. The General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and Brief COPE assessed the psychological morbidity and coping strategies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 1500 students, 527 responded to the survey. The prevalence of psychological morbidity was 23.3%; 52.3% respondents showed evidence of distress. By logistic regression analysis, GHQ-12 caseness was associated with being male and occurrence of health-related stressors. The most common stressors were related to academic concerns. Coping strategies showed variation by GHQ-caseness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The significant psychological morbidity and distress warrants establishing support systems to support students and bringing about evidence-based changes to teaching and evaluation systems. Adequate counseling facilities should be made available and students encouraged to seek help.
authors.affiliation: King Edward Medical University/Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan. nazishimrandr@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nazish
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Imran
authors.affiliation: King Edward Medical University/Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Khaula Fatima
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Tariq
authors.affiliation: King Edward Medical University/Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad Ijaz
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Pervez
authors.affiliation: Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Masood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jawaid
authors.affiliation: Fatima Memorial College of Medicine and Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Imran Ijaz
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Haider
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010154:Pakistan; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Coping; Depression; Medical students; Psychological morbidity