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Objectives: Psychological distress is an increasingly important public health problem and
12.3% o f the population suffers from some form o f mental illness. It is experienced as
sadness, anxiety, fear and in extreme cases as psychotic symptoms. Psychological distress
among university students is more compared to general population. This study was conducted
to determine psychological distress and predictive factors in medical undergraduates and to
compare them with two other main streams of undergraduate education, in University o f Sri
Jayewardenepura.
Methods: A surveying method was adapted to select 408 final year students from all three
faculties using the General Health Questionnaire 30 (GHQ - 30), an internationally accepted,
nationally validated to determine psychological distress. Frequency tabulation and Chisquared tests were used for analysis by SPSS (15). GHQ score o f six (6) or more indicated
distress.
Results: Among the undergraduates, 240 (58.8%) bad a score more than 6. The prevalence of
stress was higher among medical students 95(62.5%), than Applied Sciences 69(60%) and
Management students 76(53.5%). Age o f students (p=0.015), effect of studies on personal life
(p=0.025), responsibilities as a group leader (p=0.05) and transport and meals (p=0.006) were
found as independent significant risk factors for distress. Student’s gender (p=0.10), oral
presentations (p=0.36) and continuous assessments (p=0.35) were not significantly associated
with psychological distress. Specific tasks during clinical appointments were identified as
stressful by majority o f medical students.
Conclusions: High prevalence o f psychological distress in undergraduates, especially among
medical students is identified. The need for detailed assessment o f stressors and coping
strategies is highlighted and emphasizes the necessity o f early interventions to prevent, long
term psychological sequelae.
