HOW STRESS AFFECTS INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS AND
ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES IN STUDENTS OF 5th AND 6th SEMESTER OF
MEDICINE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BOYACÁ
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
MEDICINE PROGRAM
UNIVERSITY OF BOYACÁ
Tunja
2021
Table of contents
HOW STRESS AFFECTS INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS AND
ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES IN STUDENTS OF 5TH AND 6TH SEMESTER OF
MEDICINE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BOYACÁ
JUSTIFICATION
Stress is the set of neuroendocrine, immunological processes and responses,
emotional and behavioral responses to situations that represent a demand for adaptation
greater than usual for the organism, and/or are perceived by the individual as a threat or
danger, whether to your biological or psychological integrity. The threat can be objective or
subjective; acute or chronic. In the case of psychological stress, the crucial component is the
cognitive appreciation that the subject makes of the situation. Stress occurs when
there is a significant discrepancy between the individual's capabilities and the demands or
demands of their environment. Similarly, stress can occur when the
discrepancy that exists between the expectations a person has and what their reality offers
It is significant. From a biological standpoint, the concept of stress has evolved.
from 'a system of nonspecific responses' to one of 'monitoring internal keys and '
"externals," which is critical for the organism's adaptation to its environment. ¹ The stress that
it cannot orient itself positively and is capable of deteriorating physical and mental health
person and consequently good performance in their daily life, in their relationships
interpersonal, study, their family life and their overall well-being.
Likewise, experts in school behavior have noted that it is necessary to design
programs to reduce the adverse effects that stress can have on performance
academic in general, and timely attend to students at risk. The above,
due to the consequences of high levels of stress 'range from depressive states,
anxiety, irritability, decrease in self-esteem, insomnia, even asthma, hypertension,
ulcers, etcetera'', negatively affecting both health and performance
students' academic.
In Latin America, ''despite some contradictions, the studies agree in showing
a high incidence of stress in university students, reaching values higher than
to 67% of the studied population in the moderate stress category. In Colombia, there is no
still estimates on the levels of academic stress in university students,
national level. On the other hand, Medical Sciences have been reported as one of the
areas where students show highest levels of stress, the medical school is
a very stressful environment. Studies conducted on the African continent place the
incidence of stress in 64.5% of first-year Medical students. In our
On the continent, there are various published studies on the subject, highlighting countries such as
Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. It is important to note that Mexico is one of the countries with
higher levels of stress in the world due to presenting the main
factors such as poverty, constant changes in the labor and social situation,
pollution and competition among coworkers and classmates.4
In this way, interpersonal relationships are affected by different factors such as
they can be personality types, lack of time due to excessive tasks, etc. In the present
Research considered stress to be the main cause. The person being under a lot of pressure
generates levels of stress that vary from person to person, a person with a high burden of
unmanaged stress will turn a person hostile, they will stop being kind and
he will have an unpleasant expression on his face, so his relationship with other people will not be
satisfactory.5
This research work seeks to identify the presence of academic stress.
and to make known how it directly affects interpersonal relationships in the
5th and 6th semester students in the field of medicine.
Theoretical framework
Background
The phenomenon of stress is often interpreted in reference to a wide range of experiences,
such excessive school, work, or other pressures. Likewise, it is attributed to
situations of fear, dread, anguish, panic, eagerness to meet, existential void, speed
for achieving goals and purposes, inability to cope or incompetence
interrelational in socialization.
This difficulty, the term stress, has evidenced a meaning since the 19th century, Claude
Bernard thought that the essence of stress were the 'stressors' or 'situations'
stressful'' and during the 20th century, Walter Cannon suggested that what was important were the
characteristic physiological and behavioral responses. Thus, in 1960, Selye defined
stress as 'the sum of all the nonspecific effects of factors (daily activities,
agents that produce diseases, drugs, inadequate lifestyles, abrupt changes
in the work and family environments), that can act on the person.
There is also another perspective that focuses on the quality or nature of stress,
distinguishing whether it is negative, called distress, or positive, called eustress. When the
responses to stressors are carried out in harmony, respecting the parameters
physiological and psychological of the subject are adequate in relation to the demand and
consume biologically and physically the energy provided by the general adaptation system, it
talks about eustress. Conversely, when the responses have been insufficient or exaggerated in
relationship with demand, whether at the biological, physical, or psychological level, and is not consumed by
mentioned energy, then distress occurs.
In contrast, the most recent models of stress, called integrative models
multimodal, suggest that stress cannot be defined from a univocal conception, but
which should be understood as a set of variables that function synchronously and
diachronic, dynamized throughout the life cycle. These models present a view
a broader understanding of the subject. Therefore, although Lazarus's theoretical proposal often
to be considered as interactive in nature, it suggested in 1966 that stress be understood
Therefore, stress basically applies to the pressure on a person and can lead to a
tension that is the result of uncontrolled stress when a person cannot
to handle a challenge or a problem, this is reflected in medical students due to
to the high levels of demand of medical schools whose studies are characterized by
a constant and increasing academic demand, which requires great efforts from the student
of adaptation.
Estrés académico
Academic stress currently affects a growing number of students at the level
superior, hence all kinds of research must be generated to prevent diseases
among the school population,
Medical students are prone to this symptomatology due to suffering from stress.
academic, due to the various pressures to which they are subjected that can be social,
personal or family reasons, within the business reasons we can find the pressure that exists
in the amount of information to which students are subjected, by the amount of
obligations and duties that come with the medical career, and if this is added to the lack of
time and somehow the lack of organization, the lack of technical assistance that is
Facilitate and better accommodate time, within personal reasons we find the
family problems that any young person or adult goes through, such as problems between
friends, in the family or with colleagues and another aspect is the work environment since from there
Economic problems are unleashed. Stress is like a pandemic that has been mythified and
it has been undervalued because there is no actual treatment for this, and that is evident
reflected in the students, as there is no appropriate way to address this issue...
being prone to suffer from stress causes many problems when studying especially
for medical students because they cannot manage their schedules, responsibilities and
obligations in the most optimal way with the time and dedication they deserve,
In addition to that, the demands of the professors and the intensity of each subject trigger
a traumatic stress when starting and ending each semester.
In this sense, there are several aspects related to a student's stress.
medicine such as burnout, anxiety, fear, worry, and anguish.
Burnout
It also refers to the soulless situation where a person loses enthusiasm and
motivation to continue with a particular type of study or activity as a result of
external and internal factors. Skills and experience are still active, but the desire and
the well-being to carry out are dead in the person, since such activity or studies are
They return with great responsibility without any joy. Burnout destroys the motivation of one.
a person can kill the initiative in studies or school.
Concern
Worry is the result of thinking about an existing problem or one that is yet to come.
The problem is a constant thought and a meditation of challenge or fear. The worry
look towards what is likely to happen in the future as a result of the current situation.
It is a concern for a composer or the tranquility, the worry causes anguish to the mind and
the results in high blood pressure, headache, stomach disorders and others
severe physical discomfort.
Anxiety
Anxiety focuses on the anticipation of failure, as the student may experience fear.
at the moment of the tests, the lack of self-confidence, the possible consequences
negatives and the loss of any benefit that will be obtained from the application of the
test, these thoughts can remain or be transitory.
In this way, the student may exhibit low academic performance due to the level of
stress that is being experienced due to the high demand of commitments with each subject, moreover
of the effects that can present as cardiac, gastrointestinal disorders,
dermatological and sexual.
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