Perceived sources of stress among dental students at the University of Jordan

This study investigated perceived stress by dental students at the University of Jordan. Two hundred sixty‐six students out of 290 completed a modified DES questionnaire. The stressors producing the highest ratings for perceived stress were examinations and grades, fully loaded day, and lack of time for relaxation. For the clinical years, patients' being late or not showing for their appointments and completing clinical requirements were also substantial stressors. Significant differences were found for eleven items across all classes and five items across clinical years. The overall perception of stress by students who had medicine as their first choice for admission was higher than for students who had dentistry as their first choice. Male‐female comparison revealed significant differences for five items; between classes, significant differences were accounted for by three items. Comparison with earlier studies on identical questionnaire items revealed that perception of stress by Jordanian dental students was higher than for other students for items relating to educational environment and personal or cultural aspects.