Effects of the Family Status of Osteopathic Medical Students on Their Perceived Level of Stress

Osteopathic medical students face an exceptional stress -inducing 4 -year period of their lives while in medical school. Students who might have an interest in entering marriage during medical school may hesitate to commit, perceiving marriage as a possible additional stressor to the already complex and vast medical curriculum. This investigation aimed to understand the effects of marital status on osteopathic medical student stress levels. An online survey was conducted, and 100 responses were recorded and analyzed. To measure stress levels, the Perceived Stress Scale was utilized. Raw stress scores were compared utilizing t 2 analysis while stress level categories, such as low stress, moderate stress, and high stress, were compared using chi 2 analysis. The findings show that there is no significant difference between osteopathic medical students who are married and those who are not when comparing for both, raw stress score (P=0.092), and stress score level (P=0.186). These results conclude that marriage does not act as an exacerbator or alleviator for osteopathic medical student stress levels.