Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe stress among dental professionals and students. Aim: To assess the perceived stress levels and strategies for coping with stress among clinical dental undergraduates of Kerala all along the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of the perceived stress scale-10 and Brief-COPE scale. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among the third and final year BDS students of dental colleges under the Kerala University of Health Sciences through an online questionnaire using PSS-10 scale and Brief COPE Scale for six months. Comparison of continuous variables between two groups was analyzed by student t-test or Mann-Whitney U test. Association between qualitative variables was analyzed by the Chi-square test. The relationship between quantitative variables was analyzed by Pearson correlation. Results: Assessment of overall mean scores of various sub-domains revealed maximum mean score for the use of informational support (5.42±1.50) followed by positive refraining (4.52±1.45). For emotion focussed coping, the maximum mean score was reported for humour (5.54±1.51), and the least mean score was reported for acceptance (4.04±1.63). Participants who had been diagnosed with psychological or psychiatric disease in the past had a higher total PSS mean score (23.91 ± 7.39) compared to other participants (19.94 ± 6.93), and this difference was significant (p=0.02). With respect to adaptive coping strategies, a statistically significant difference was observed based on the year of study for dimensions "positive reframing" (p = 0.036) and "instrumental support" (p = 0.012), with a higher overall mean score among third-year participants (39.42±6.20). In terms of adaptive coping strategies, a statistically significant difference was observed based on socio-economic status for dimensions "humour" (p = 0.031) and "acceptance" (p = 0.029). There was a statistically significant positive correlation between emotional support (0.308), planning (.238), denial (.218), and acceptance (.135) with a PSS score while there was a statistically significant negative correlation between substance use (-.204), positive reframing (-.141), and use of informational support (-.105) with a PSS score. Conclusion: The current study showed that females, day scholar students, and final year part-2 dental students reported significantly higher levels of perceived stress. The majority of students have been using adaptive coping techniques to combat stress. It is important to inform students about stress's psychological symptoms and indicators. Moreover, stress avoidance and management measures should be incorporated into the dental curriculum to promote students' well-being.
Rejula Fathima1*, Gibi Paul2, Pratheek V. S.3, Vidya. K. G.4, Mridula Parameswaran5 (Fri,) studied this question.