The relationship between anxiety levels, coping styles and behavioral patterns of medical students

Year 2025, Volume: 16 Issue: 56, 183 - 192, 16.12.2025

Hülya Güç , Asena Ayça Özdemir , İbrahim Başhan

https://doi.org/10.17944/interdiscip.1739456

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the association between anxiety levels and stress-coping strategies of preclinical medical students, based on their behavioral patterns.
Method: This cross-sectional study involved 180 volunteer preclinical medical students. Data were obtained through the Demographic Form, Stress Coping Styles, Anxiety, and Behavioral Patterns Inventory. As the data were not normally distributed (the Shapiro–Wilk test), non-parametric analyses were used: Mann–Whitney U for two groups, Kruskal–Wallis for multiple groups, and Spearman’s correlation for associations. Reliability was tested with Cronbach’s alpha, and significance was set at p < 0.05.
Results: The mean age of 180 participants in this study was 20.34 ± 1.84 years. Pressures coping styles scale (SCSS) scores showed a weak positive correlation with the “Director” behavior pattern (r = 0.27; p = 0.047) and a weak negative (but statistically non-significant) correlation with the “Relater” pattern(r = -0.26; p = 0.055) in second-year medical students. A significant difference was found between the groups in terms of Submissive Approach (SA) scores (p = 0.040), with second-year students scoring higher than those of first-year students (p < 0.05). Similarly, the mean SCSS scores of second-year students were significantly higher than those of first-year students (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Examining the relationship between medical students’ anxiety levels and behavioral patterns is essential for improving medical education practices and strengthening students’ psychological resilience. Structured and directive behaviors may help reduce anxiety, while positive learning environments that consider individual differences can enhance academic and professional outcomes.

Keywords

Behavioral patterns , coping styles , medical students

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