Depressive Symptoms, Temperament/Character, and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Traits in Medical Students Seeking Counseling

Abstract

Background: To investigate depressive symptoms, temperament, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder traits in medical students, comparing those who sought psychological counseling with those who did not seek it. Subjects and methods: We assessed 49 students seeking counseling (mean age=24.4 years, SD=4.07) and 49 noncounseling controls (mean age=21.7 years, SD=2.6). Participants were assessed for depressive symptoms with the Beck Depression Inventory-II, for temperament/character dimensions using the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised, and for attention deficit/hyperactivity symptoms using the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale. Results: Counseling-seeking students were more likely to have attention deficit/hyperactivity symptoms, scored higher on the Beck Depression Inventory-II and on the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised Harm avoidance, and lower on the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised Self-Directedness, compared to controls. Conclusions: Medical students applying for counseling should be carefully assessed for depressive symptoms, attention deficit/hyperactivity symptoms, and temperament characteristics; depressive and attention deficit/hyperactivity symptoms could be the focus of counseling interventions.

Student Counseling Centers in Europe: A Retrospective Analysis

“…It is important to underline that in the current work, only a few institutions in Europe reported offering psychotherapies despite the widely established effectiveness of these types of counseling support for tertiary education students. Notable among such research are the findings that, following psychotherapy, students show increased levels of well-being and reduced levels of distress, affirming the feasibility of psychotherapy in improving students' mental health regardless of the particular psychotherapeutic approach utilized (Pistorello et al, 2012;Mukuria et al, 2013;Monti et al, 2014;Beiter et al, 2015;Kim et al, 2016;Rapinesi et al, 2018). Currently, though, mental health services and support in tertiary education institutions typically follow an approach that gives priority to first-level interventions, with only small subsets of students receiving assistance (Conley et al, 2015).…”

Rasgos de personalidad del grupo C y trastorno por déficit de atención en estudiantes de medicina: estudio transversal analítico

“…En este sentido, se ha reportado que, entre pacientes con trastornos de ansiedad, la proporción de TDAH infantil alcanza 24% 18 , mientras que en TDAH adulto sería de entre 30% 19 y 70% 20 . En efecto, Rapinesi et al 21 sostienen que el TDAH puede ser subdiagnosticado durante la infancia, para luego ser visibilizado durante la vida universitaria, debido a que las exigencias académicas favorecen la aparición y visualización de síntomas. En nuestra investigación, los niveles de TDAH probable o muy probable son elevados, sin embargo, son congruentes con el estudio de O'Callaghan et al 22 sobre calidad de vida en estudiantes de medicina con TDAH.…”