Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T18:06:21.021Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Psychological Symptoms and their Course in First-Year Medical Students as Assessed by the Interval General Health Questionnaire (I–GHQ)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

P. McC. Miller*
Affiliation:
MRC Reproductive Biology Unit, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Park, Edinburgh EH10 5HF
P. G. Surtees
Affiliation:
MRC Biostatistics Unit, 5 Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 2BW
*
Correspondence

Abstract

Evidence is presented concerning the concurrent validity of the Interval General Health Questionnaire. This was used to describe the timing and course of spells of depression and anxiety symptoms in first-year medical students over their initial six months at university. A small subgroup of students who were continuously symptomatic were distinguished from other groups by the presence of a number of factors: they were slow to make friends, had inappropriate support from relatives, had a tendency to have rows, had steady girl/boyfriends and had ‘vulnerable’ personalities. By contrast, a large subgroup who were well throughout had experienced caring childhood backgrounds, seldom had girl/boyfriends, showed little tendency to have rows and had ‘resilient’ personalities. Other subgroups are also described. It is suggested that students who suffer from chronic minor symptomatic distress could be recognised early on and offered appropriate support from counselling services.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brown, G. W. & Harris, T. O. (1978) Social Origins of Depression: a Study of Psychiatric Disorders in Women. London: Tavistock.Google Scholar
Clark, D. C., Daugherty, S. R., Zeldow, P. B., et al (1988) The relationship between academic performance and severity of depressed mood during medical school. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 29, 409420.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eric, L., Radovanovic, Z. & Jevremovic, I. (1988) Mental disorders among Yugoslav medical students. British Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 127129.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Firth, J. (1986) Levels and sources of stress in medical students. British Medical Journal, 292, 11771180.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Foorman, S. & Lloyd, C. (1986) The relationship between social support and psychiatric symptomatology in medical students. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 174, 229239.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldberg, D. (1978) Manual of the General Health Questionnaire. Windsor: National Foundation for Educational Research.Google Scholar
Hohaus, L. C. & Berah, E. F. (1985) Impairment of doctors: are beginning medical students psychologically vulnerable? Medical Education, 19, 431436.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keller, M. B., Lavori, P. W., Friedman, B., et al (1987) The longitudinal interval follow-up evaluation: a comprehensive method for assessing outcome in prospective longitudinal studies. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, 540548.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lloyd, C., Alexander, A. A., Rice, D. G., et al (1980) Life events as predictors of academic performance. Journal of Human Stress, 1, 1525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lloyd, C., & Gartrell, N. K. (1984) Psychiatric symptoms in medical students. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 25, 552565.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller, P. McC. & Ingham, J. G. (1979) Reflections on the life-events-to-illness link with some preliminary findings. In Stress and Anxiety, Vol. 6 (eds Sarason, I. G. & Spielberger, C. D.). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Miller, P. McC., Surtees, P. G., Kreitman, B., et al (1985) Maladaptive coping reactions to stress: a study of illness inception. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 173, 707716.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, P. McC., Ingham, J. G., Kreitman, N. B., et al (1987) Life events and other factors implicated in onset and in remission of psychiatric illness in women. Journal of Affective Disorders, 12, 7388.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Norusis, M. J. (1985) SPSSX. Advanced Statistics Guide. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Parker, G., Tupling, H. & Brown, L. B. (1979) A parental bonding instrument. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 52, 110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richman, J. & Flaherty, J. (1985) Coping and depression: the relative contribution of internal and external resources during a life cycle transition. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 173, 590595.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Richman, J. & Flaherty, J. (1986) Childhood relationships, adult coping resources and depression. Social Science and Medicine, 23, 709716.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenberg, M. (1965) The Measurement of Self-esteem. Society and the Adolescent Image. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Surtees, P. G. & Miller, P. McC. (1990) The Interval General Health Questionnaire (I–GHQ). British Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 679686.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Surtees, P. G. & Tansella, M. (1990) The I–GHQ and its relationship with psychiatric disorder in community and general practice samples. British Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 686693.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tyrer, P. & Alexander, J. (1979) Classification of personality disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry, 135, 163167.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wells, V. E., Klerman, G. L. & Deykin, E. Y. (1987) The prevalence of depressive symptoms in college students. Social Psychiatry, 22, 2028.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zeldow, P. B., Daugherty, S. R. & McAdams, D. P. (1988) Intimacy, power and psychological well-being in medical students. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 176, 182187.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zoccolillo, M., Murphy, G. E. & Wetzel, R. D. (1986) Depression among medical students. Journal of Affective Disorders, 11, 9196.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.