Mental health issues among medical students in Serbia: Challenges and perspectives

Abstract

Objective: The authors present a review of results from studies regarding mental health of medical students in Serbia. Methods: Serbian citation index (SCI), MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Cochrane databases were searched, as well as conference proceedings, book chapters and reference lists. Results: The results of numerous studies conducted in Serbia show a higher overall psychological distress among medical students as well as that female students are more vulnerable to stress. The most common are stress-related problems, depression, self-harm and substance abuse. Although there is a high prevalence of depression among medical students in Serbia most of them do not seek help (70-80%). Conclusion: A better understanding of the characteristics of medical students who are prone to experiencing psychological distress is essential for developing mental health support programmes which could decrease the level of reported distress among this vulnerable group