Image by Elisa Ventur on UnSplash
Image by Elisa Ventur on UnSplash

Small survey indicates high levels of depression and burnout among NZ medical and postgraduate students

Embargoed until: Publicly released:
Peer-reviewed: This work was reviewed and scrutinised by relevant independent experts.

Survey: A study based solely on people’s responses to a series of questions.

People: This is a study based on research using people.

In a survey of 140 postgraduate and medical students at the University of Otago’s Christchurch campus, roughly one third reported clinical symptoms of depression, anxiety or stress, and over three quarters reported experiencing burnout. Neuroticism was strongly linked to these conditions, while personal resilience and having support from whanau, academic staff, and social groups were associated with more positive wellbeing indicators. While being in a relationship was associated with higher stress scores, the authors speculate that it might not be a one-way street, as work, mental health difficulties, and study burnout can negatively impact relationships.

Journal/conference: New Zealand Medical Journal

Organisation/s: University of Otago

Funder: NA

Media release

From: Pasifika Medical Association Group

Postgraduate and medical students at the University of Otago’s Christchurch campus completed an online survey during 2019–2020 about their experience of psychological distress and burnout while studying. They reported high levels of psychological distress and burnout—roughly a third reported clinical symptoms of depression, anxiety or stress, and over 3/4 of the students reported burnout. Both individual (e.g., certain personality factors and resilience) and contextual factors (e.g., how much support and how well they thought they were progressing in their studies) were associated  with distress and burnout. Exposure to the major earthquakes in 2010/2011 and the 2019 terrorist attack was not found to be associated with increased levels of distress and burnout in this sample. Despite high levels of distress, over two thirds of our sample reported feeling satisfied with life.

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