RELATIONSHIP OF LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS IN MEDICAL STUDENTS

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship of learned helplessness with psychological distress and relationship of social integration with psychological distress in medical students. METHODS: This quantitative correlational survey research was conducted from September 2019 till January 2020, on 315 medical students, aging between 18-24 years, recruited from private and public medical colleges from Karachi, Pakistan. Data was collected through purposive sampling technique from students of all five medical years. To measure the variables, Learned Helplessness Scale, Social Inclusion Scale and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale were used. The institutes were visited as a part of survey-based methodology for this research. RESULTS: Out of 315 medical students, 223 (70.8%) were females and 92 (29.2%) were males. Mean age of students was 21.33±2.19 years and mean time spent by participants in university was 7.49±2.06 hours. Majority (n=272/315; 86.3%) were single. About 41.6% (n=131/315) completed three years of medical education. Majority (n=250/ 315; 79.4%) lived with their parents and 303 (96%) student's parents could afford their medical education. Twenty-seven (8.6%) students consulted psychiatrist/psychologist at least once and 33 (10.5%) students had family history of psychological illness. Thirty-six (11.4%) students had other health-related problems. Outcomes depicts a weak positive correlation between learned helplessness and psychological distress (r= 0.218, p<0.01) and a weak negative correlation between social integration and psychological distress (r = -0.272, p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Medical students who had more robust social networks had a reduced chance of psychological distress than their counterparts who had weaker ties.