Abstract

STRESS LEVEL AND THE COMMON COPING STRATEGIES AMONG INTERNATIONAL POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS AT UNIVERSITY KEBANGSAAN MALAYSIA MEDICAL CENTRE (UKMMC), CHERAS, KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

Objectives: This study was to determine the stress level, and the common coping strategies used by the international postgraduate students in UKMMC, Cheras campus Kuala Lumpur to alleviate their stress. Methods: A cross-sectional study to determine the stress-level was conducted among the international postgraduate students in UKMMC, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. A self-administrated questionnaire was instituted, including fundamental data on socio demographic data of the respondents, the stress level using the Kessler Psychological Distress scale (K10) and the Brief Cope scale. Results: A total of 126 respondents with a responding rate of 82.9% participated in this study. The mean age of respondents was 35.20 + 5.52 years with slightly more than half of them aged between 30-39 years. The majority were Arabic students (52.4%) followed by Iranian (27.8%) and Asian students (19.8%). The stress prevalence among the students was 54.8%.Out of the fourteen coping strategies, three were found to be effective in managing their stress, which include self-distraction (OR= 1.48, 95% CI = 1.03–2.22), denial (OR= 1.57, 95% CI = 1.11–2.22), and self-blame (OR= 1.66, 95% CI= 1.21–2.28). Conclusion: Half of the postgraduates students at UKMMC had some form of stress. Self-distraction, denial, and self-blame are the strategists used to alleviate stress among postgraduates students. Further study is recommended to measure the effectiveness of these strategists in order to overcome their stress level.

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