Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations.
Results showed that about 70% of the students had some stress management strategies. However, 19% of them experienced toxic levels of stress, 33% of them used negative appraisal for coping, and one-third of them showed clinically significant anxiety and depression, resulting in negative impact on occupational engagement. OT students may benefit from learning different types of coping strategies that promote development of resilience to better manage stress and reduce mental illness.
Primary Author and Speaker: Megan C. Chang
Additional Authors and Speakers: Sarah Hagen, Stephanie Geneza, Maiko Ibay, Megan Karburn, Alexandra Kautz, and Elaine Lau
PURPOSE: Studies have suggested that graduate students are more susceptible to increased levels of stress, anxiety, and depression (Hammen, 2005; Kernan et al., 2011; Van Berkel & Reeves, 2017), thus influencing levels of occupational engagement (Gallagher, 2014; Myers et al., 2012; Wyatt & Oswalt, 2013). Engaging in health-promoting coping strategies can help buffer against the harmful effects of stress, anxiety, and depression (Javnbakht et al., 2009; Oswalt & Riddock, 2007; Saeed et al., 2010). However, more research is warranted to identify specific coping styles that mediate the harmful effects of stress within this population.
DESIGN: This study utilized a cross-sectional study design to examine the relationship between stress, anxiety, depression, and occupational engagement in graduate students.
METHODS: Graduate students were recruited from a local university. Eligible participants completed self-report assessments: Stress Profile™ (Nowack, 1999), Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale-ATM (Reynolds et al., 2003), Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (Radloff, 1977), and Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey (Goldberg et al., 2002). Convenience and snowball sampling were used for recruitment.
RESULTS: A total of 58 graduate students completed the survey packet. About 70% of the participants (n = 41) used stress management strategies previously, such as yoga and meditation, while more than 72% of them exercise regularly. However, 33% of the participants (n = 19) used negative appraisal to cope with stress, and 19% of participants experienced toxic levels of stress. Additionally, 38% (n = 22) of them experienced clinical significant anxiety whereas 33% (n = 19) of them showed depressive symptoms. Stress levels were significantly correlated with anxiety and depression and negatively correlated occupational engagements.
CONCLUSION AND IMPACT STATEMENT: The results showed that the higher stress levels OT students experienced, the higher chances that they may experience anxiety and depression. Such toxic levels of stress had negatively impact on engagement in meaningful activities. Therefore, results suggest that OT students may benefit from learning different types of coping strategies that promote development of resilience to better manage stress and reduce mental illness. Additionally, graduate programs are recommended to incorporate effective stress management techniques into their curriculum to equip students with coping mechanisms to better prevent burnout as future healthcare practitioners.
References
Saeed, S. A., Antonacci, D. J., & Bloch, R. M. (2010). Exercise, yoga, and meditation for depressive and anxiety disorders. American Family Physician, 81(8), 981-986.
Van Berkel, K., & Reeves, B. (2017). Stress among graduate students in relation to health behaviors. College Student Journal, 51, 498-510.
Nowack, K. M. (1999). Stress profile. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
Reynolds, C. R., Richmond, B. O., & Lowe, P. A. (2003). The Adult Manifest Anxiety Scale– Adult Version (AMAS-A). Western Psychological Services.
