COVID-19 Fear and Uncertainty Intolerance in Medical Students

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the COVID-19 fear and uncertainty intolerance in first-year medical students in the first year of the pandemic. Methods: In the academic year 2020-2021, a cross-sectional study was carried out among students in the first year of medical school. They were asked to complete an online survey which included demographic information and two five-item (1 to 5) Likert scales. The scales were the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCS) and the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-12 (IUS-12). Results: Of the 237 students included (participation rate 81.7%), the median age was 19.0 [IQR=1.0] years and 60.3% were female (n=143). The median FCS score was 17.0 [IQR=7.0] and the mean IUS-12 score was 37.4±8.8. A significant positive correlation was found between FCS and IUS-12 scores (r=0.316, P<.001). Elevated FCS scores were significantly associated with female gender, never smokers, and those reporting a need for psychological support (P<.05). High IUS-12 scores were also significantly associated with the need for psychological support, but also with feeling lonely, home stress, and not watching online lectures (P<.05). Conclusion: High levels of COVID-19 fear and uncertainty intolerance were found in first-year medical students. Students' need for psychological support tended to be significantly higher at both higher scaled.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• Medical student
• Psychological support

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