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Perceived Medical School stress of undergraduate medical students predicts academic performance: an observational study
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Medical students are exposed to high amounts of stress. Stress and poor academic performance can become part of a vicious circle. In order to counteract this circularity, it seems important to better understand the relationship between stress and performance during medical education. The most widespread stress questionnaire designed for use in Medical School is the "Perceived Medical School Stress Instrument" (PMSS). It addresses a wide range of stressors, including workload, competition, social isolation and financial worries. Our aim was to examine the relation between the perceived Medical School stress of undergraduate medical students and academic performance. METHODS: We measured Medical School stress using the PMSS at two different time points (at the end of freshman year and at the end of sophomore year) and matched stress scores together with age and gender to the first medical examination (M1) grade of the students (n = 456). RESULTS: PMSS scores from 2 and 14 months before M1 proved to be significant predictors for medical students' M1 grade. Age and gender also predict academic performance, making older female students with high stress scores a potential risk group for entering the vicious circle of stress and poor academic performance. CONCLUSIONS: PMSS sum scores 2 and 14 months before the M1 exam seem to have an independent predictive validity for medical students' M1 grade. More research is needed to identify potential confounders.
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“In an observational study of 456 German undergraduate medical students, higher perceived academic-related stress was found to predict poor academic performance (Kotter, Wagner, Bruheim, & Voltmer, 2017).”
From The impact of stress on students in secondary school and higher education (2020) · cites this paper as Kotter, Wagner, Bruheim, & Voltmer, 2017
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
The impact of stress on students in secondary school and higher education
Pascoe, M. C., Hetrick, S. E., & Parker, A. G. (2020) · International Journal of Adolescence and Youth · doi:10.1080/02673843.2019.1596823 · Cited by 1,359
“In an observational study of 456 German undergraduate medical students, higher perceived academic-related stress was found to predict poor academic performance (Kotter, Wagner, Bruheim, & Voltmer, 2017).”
Karbownik, M. S., Kręczyńska, J., Kwarta, P., Cybula, M., Wiktorowska-Owczarek, A., Kowalczyk, E., Pietras, T., & Szemraj, J. (2020) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu12051469 · Cited by 26
Metadata
- Authors
- Kötter, T., Wagner, J., Brüheim, L., & Voltmer, E.
- Affiliations
- University of Lübeck (DE)
- Friedensau Adventist University (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Kötter, Thomas
- Venue
- BMC Medical Education
- Published
- 2017-12
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 256-256
- ISSN
- 1472-6920 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5732510
- OpenAlex
- W2775653810
- Cited by
- 172
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 15.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- BMC Medical Education (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- University of Lübeck
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
- Social Sciences › Education › Innovations in Medical Education
- Keywords
- academic performance, undergraduate medical students, predictors of academic performance, age and gender differences
- MeSH terms
- Academic Performance, Adult, Age Factors, Education, Medical, Undergraduate, Female, Germany, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Perception, Prospective Studies, Psychometrics, Surveys and Questionnaires, Schools, Medical, Sex Factors, Stress, Psychological, Students, Medical, Workload, Observation, Young Adult
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