Sources of stress in a pharmacy student population.

Objective: To assess the sources of stress for pharmacy students and relationships to demographic factors and perceived stress.

Methods: Survey study of students at three pharmacy schools investigating student stress using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS10), a two-tiered sources of stress questionnaire and demographic information.

Results: Student perceived stress levels were significantly higher than standard populations, but consistent with other pharmacy student populations. The strongest predictor of perceived stress was when students anticipated lower stress levels than actually experienced, followed by pressure to succeed. Additional variables were self-reported grade point average (GPA) and stress from relationships and experiential rotations. For first year (P1) students, having less than a bachelor's degree significantly influenced perceived stress. For the entire sample, male gender and health-related stress were significant. Academic performance (81%) and pressure to succeed (77%) were the most frequently reported general sources of stress. School B students were significantly less likely to report stress about postgraduate opportunities, career choices, and health issues. Students at school C were significantly less likely to report stress about academic issues.

Conclusions: Pharmacy students' perceived stress is associated with their expectations, several general stressor categories, and demographic characteristics. Sources of stress appear to differ between pharmacy programs. Programs could examine their policies to see if there were more effective and timely means to address student stress. By better understanding the specific reasons for stress, we may be better able to mitigate its negative effects.