The evaluation of perceived sources of stress and stress levels among Turkish dental students

Objective : The purpose of this study was to identify sources of stress and to evaluate stress levels among Turkish dental students and also to investigate the role of year of study and gender on perceived stressors. Methods : This study included 308 dental students. Dental Environment Stress (DES) questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used to collect data. Also, some factors considered to be effective on stress levels of dental students were questioned. Data were statistically analysed with Kruskal Wallis and Mann Whitney U tests. Results : The most stress provoking factors were fear of failing the year, completion of clinical requirements and amount of assigned work. Statistically significant differences were found between years of study and gender for many stressors. There was statistically significant difference between years of study and gender for mean DES scores but no statistically significant differences were found between years of study for mean BDI, STAI scores. There was statistically significant difference between genders for STAI‐1. Choice rank of dental school has affected stress levels of dental students. Conclusion : This study showed that perceived sources of stress of clinical students were very similar and stress levels of these students were lower than preclinical students, also gender was effective on stressors and stress levels.