Influence of Physical and Psychological Symptoms of Stress in Undergraduate and Graduate Students: A Cross-Sectional Study Conducted in Brazil
Description
Objective: To verify the correlation between physical and psychological manifestations and the phases of stress in undergraduate and graduate students at a Brazilian university. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive, comparative study with a quantitative approach conducted in July 2023. The Lipp's Stress Symptoms Inventory (ISSL) was used to measure the variables of interest. The sample was divided between the undergraduate group (UG) and the postgraduate group (PG), which included master's, doctoral, and specialization students from various areas of knowledge. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used to measure the variables of interest and their correlations. Results: A total of 1,049 individuals participated in the study, with 688 (65.6%) from UG and 361 from PG (34.4%). The majority of participants were aged between 18 and 29 years (n=627/ 59.8%), female (n=693/ 66.1%), heterosexual (n=798/ 76.1%), and studied at the campus in the state capital (n=855/ 81.5%). When comparing the study groups, the UG stood out among those in the resistance phase according to the ISSL (n=440/ 64.0%/ p=0.005). The same group exhibited higher scores for physical symptoms (mean=6.8/ Standard Deviation [SD]: 5.3/ p=0.023) and psychological symptoms (mean=6.3/ SD: 4.8/ p=0.004), resistance phase (mean=5.0/ SD: 2.4/ p=0.010) and exhaustion phase (mean=5.2/ SD: 4.3/ p=0.003), compared to the PG. We also found a strong correlation between all stress phases and physical and psychological symptoms in both groups (R>0.50/ p<0.050). However, linear regression analysis showed a greater prediction in the UG between psychological symptoms and Resistance Phase (R²=0.767/ p<0.001), Exhaustion Phase (R²=0.866/ p<0.001). The PG exhibited the same behavior, however, between physical symptoms, Alert Phase (R²=0.747/ p<0.001) and Resistance Phase (R²=0.802/ p<0.001). Conclusion: We observed a strong correlation between physical and psychological stress symptoms in students from both study groups. However, there was a higher prediction for stress related to psychological symptoms in the UG and to physical symptoms in the PG.