Depression and Family Influence on Career Development of Students Passing the University Admission for Medical Education Program

Abstract

Objective : To study depression and family influence on career development of students passing the university admission examination into medical education program.
Method : A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on the 304 students who enrolled at the Faculty of Medicine in one of the universities in Thailand. The self-administered
questionnaires consisted of socio-demographic data, quick inventory of depressive symptomatology, family influence scale and the coping scale developed by Boonsit P.
Results : One hundred and seventy students(53.9%) were male. Depression was found to be 26.6% in mild level, 4.3% in moderate, and 0.7% in severe level. Most subjects overcame
stressors by using problem focused coping and seeking social support coping. Family influence scores on career development of students were in the moderate level. One-third of them had
some doctors among their family members. Depression was significantly related to method of direct admission to the medical school (p=0.012), the avoidance coping style (p=0.001) and
high level of family influence on career development (p=0.013) .The total scores of depression had positive correlation with the avoidance coping style (r=0.46, p=0.001) and family influence
on career development (r= 0.12, p=0.03).
Conclusion : Depression related to avoidance coping style and family influence on career development. These findings should be considered for further assessment and interventions
to promote mental health and prevent depressive disorders in medical students.