Role of quality of life in internalizing psychological problems: a comparative study of male and female medical students

Objective: To assess the role of quality of life in internalizing psychological problems like depression, anxiety and stress with gender differences among medical students. Methodology: This cross sectional-purposive sampling based study was conducted upon medical students of Wah Medical College from May 2019 to January 2020. A known, self-rated instrument World Health Organization quality of life and Depression, anxiety, stress (DASS) scale was used. Pearson correlation, linear regression analysis and independent sample t-test through SPSS version 21. Results: Out of 200 respondents, 88(44%) were female and 112(56%) were male with the 18-25 age range (mean 21.5 +/- 2.4). Quality of life depicted a significant inverse relationship with depression, anxiety and stress. Non-significant gender differences revealed on WHO quality of life, depression and anxiety scale while significant gender difference on stress scale. Conclusion: Quality of life acts as an important determinant of medical student's well-being and plays significant role in the preservation of internalizing psychological problems.