Medical studentsʹ cognitive appraisal of stressful life events as related to personality, physical well-being, and academic performance: a longitudinal study

This longitudinal study was designed to test three hypotheses that medical students who can cope better with adversity would: (1) have a more positive personality profile, (2) report less physical illnesses, (3) perform better academically. Total participants were 2114 medical students at Jefferson Medical College who completed a set of psychosocial questionnaires, and were prospectively followed up during medical school education and beyond. Participants reported on a five-point scale their appraisal of five stressors (death or health deterioration of a family member, personal illness, financial, and academic problems). Students who experienced the stressors (n=1446, 68% of total participants) were divided into three groups (Resilient, Intermediate, Frail) based on their appraisal of the stressors. The three groups were compared on a set of personality scales (e.g. general anxiety, depression, test anxiety, neuroticism, loneliness, self-esteem and extraversion), physical well-being factors (e.g. chronic health, eating/drinking/smoking, agitation symptoms, somatic symptoms, and global sickness), and academic performance indicators in medical school (e.g. grade point averages, class rank, and medical licensing examinations), and ratings of clinical competence in postgraduate medical training. Hypotheses 1 and 2 were confirmed, and hypothesis 3 was partially confirmed. Implications for developing coping skills, stress management strategies, and student counseling are discussed.