Objective: Medical students may be exposed to a significant amount of psychological stress, especially at the beginning of their education while still completing adolescent development. To better understand the correlates of this psychological stress, the aims of the present study were: 1) to assess the level of perceived stress in relation to gender in a sample of Croatian medical students on the second and third year ; 2) to examine the types of defense mechanisms used to face this psychological stress ; 3) to investigate the possible association between perceived stress and family functioning. Methods: One hundred and eleven medical students (18-22 years, 55 males, 56 females) were surveyed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES II), and the Bond's Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-88). Results: Female students perceived significantly more psychological stress (t=2.219, p=0.029) than male students and used more maladaptive defenses (t=2.026, p=0.045). In image distorting defense style cluster, the only difference that was found is that male students used more omnipotence-devaluation (t=2.493, p=0.014). Family cohesion (r=-0.293, p=0.03) and adaptability (r=-0.304, p=0.02) were negatively correlated with levels of perceived stress. Level of perceived stress correlated positively with maladaptive defense mechanisms (r=0.557, p=0.000). Conclusion: Young female medical students might represent a subgroup at high risk for perceived stress and maladaptive defenses. If confirmed by further longitudinal studies, we think that our results may be of relevance for the elaboration of prevention and treatment programs in order to promote the mental health of medical students.

Clinical medicine sciences