SOURCES OF STRESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MORBIDITY AMONG UNDERGRADUATE PHYSICAL THERAPY STUDENTS

Abstract

Background: Academic stress is a pervasive issue among healthcare students and has been shown to significantly affect mental well-being. Physiotherapy education, with its evolving curriculum and increasing clinical demands, exposes students to various stressors, particularly academic pressures. The consequences of prolonged stress can lead to psychological morbidity, including anxiety and depression, which may negatively impact students’ academic performance and long-term professional competence. This study aimed to identify major stressors and evaluate their association with psychological morbidity among undergraduate physiotherapy students.

Objective: To determine the sources of stress and assess their correlation with psychological morbidity among fourth and final-year physiotherapy undergraduates.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted over six months at three academic institutions in Lahore. A total of 190 fourth and final-year physiotherapy students were recruited using non-probability convenience sampling. Data were collected through the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and the Undergraduate Sources of Stress (USOS) questionnaire. GHQ-12 assessed psychological morbidity, while USOS identified stress sources across academic, personal, and financial domains. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics v20. Pearson’s correlation and linear regression were used to determine associations, with significance set at p<0.05.

Results: Out of 190 participants, 74.2% were female. Academic stress emerged as the most prominent source, with 40.5% reporting high stress regarding the amount of material to be learned, and 38.9% citing high stress due to intellectual demands. GHQ-12 scores showed 54.7% of students had high psychological morbidity and 26.3% had severe morbidity. A strong positive correlation was found between academic stressors and psychological morbidity (r = 0.789, p < 0.01).

Conclusion: Academic stress significantly contributes to psychological morbidity among physiotherapy undergraduates. Targeted interventions and institutional support are essential to safeguard students' mental well-being.