Psychodiagnostic Assessment of the Severity of Signs of Eating Disorders and Emotional Burnout Syndrome in Medical University Students

Relevance. In light of the rapid global pace of urbanization, increasing workload, reduced rest time, and the growing prevalence of stress–related illnesses, psychogenic disorders such as eating disorders and burnout syndrome are increasingly diagnosed. These conditions are particularly prevalent among the young working population, notably medical students, who face high psycho– emotional stress daily.

The aim to conduct a psychodiagnostic assessment of the severity of signs of eating disorders and emotional burnout syndrome in medical university students.

Methodology. An observational descriptive one–stage study was conducted with the participation of 100 students of the Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Education named after Academician E.A. Wagner, Perm, the average age was 21.96 ± 2.63 years. The students were divided into two groups. The first group consisted of 50 persons of 2nd year students (boys and girls), the second – 50 persons of 5th year students of both sexes. Within the group, they are divided into two subgroups with an equal number of boys and girls (n = 25). The groups practically did not differ in social and clinical characteristics. The study of eating disorders and emotional burnout syndrome was conducted through clinical questionnaires: the scale of Eating Disorder Inventory, EDI (Russian–language adaptation: Ilchik O.A., Sivukha S.V., Skugarevsky O.A., Suihi S., 2011), the questionnaire of Maslach Burnout Inventory, MBI (Russian–language adaptation: Vodopyanova N.E., Starchenkova E.S., 2001). The absolute values are calculated in the form of the arithmetic mean (M) and the standard deviation (SD). Statistical processing was carried out using the StatSoft Statistica 12.6 software, the nonparametric Mann–Whitney U-test was used. The differences were considered statistically significant at p < 0.05.

Results and discussion. The indicators of psychodiagnostic assessment of eating disorders in girls of the 2nd and 5th courses are significantly pronounced (4.27 ± 2.69 and 4.93 ± 2.67, respectively, on the EDI scale – average severity). However, the differences between the indicators are statistically insignificant (p > 0,05). The presence of eating disorders was revealed in the 2nd year boys (4.24 ± 2.40, average severity according to EDI), they are not typical for the 5th year (3.85±2.65, low level of values according to EDI). At the same time, there were no statistical differences between the courses either (p > 0,05). Consequently, the severity and progression of eating disorders practically does not depend on the course of study of medical students. Burnout syndrome, assessed in the study by the value of the systemic burnout syndrome index (0 – not expressed, 1 – expressed as much as possible) on the MBI scale is most pronounced in 5th year girls (0.47 ± 0.12), compared with 2nd year students (0.37 ± 0.12), which is statistically confirmed (p < 0,01). In boys of both courses, these indicators are lower than in girls and are almost at the same level (0.27± 0.09 in the 2nd year, 0.24 ± 0.10 in the 5th year). Statistically, the difference in indicators is unreliable (p > 0,05). Consequently, the burnout syndrome is more pronounced in girls, and the syndrome progressed in 5th-year students.

Conclusion. Eating disorders are prevalent among medical students of both sexes, irrespective of their year of study, with a consistently moderate severity that does not change over time. Burnout syndrome is more characteristic of females, with significant progression by the fifth year of study. 

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