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Factors Associated with Psychological Distress Among General Medicine Students in Congo

Received: 5 October 2025     Accepted: 20 October 2025     Published: 9 December 2025
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Abstract

Introduction: Psychological distress (PD) is a negative emotional state resulting from prolonged exposure to a stressor or an accumulation of environmental stressors. Objective: To identify factors associated with PD among general medicine students in Brazzaville. Patients and methods: This was a cross-sectional analytical study. It was carried out over a period of 4 months at the FSSA. It focused on general medicine student (GMSs) from the first to the seventh year of medicine who consented to participate in the study. The variables studied were sociodemographic, academic, related to lifestyle and the medical educational environment, related to psychological distress and related to the need for psychological help and stress management. Results: The prevalence of psychological distress among medical students was 63.4%. The mean age of medical students was 21.5±2.8 years and the sex ratio was 0.6. Both parents were alive in 88.7%. The main source of funding was the parents in 47.5% and 70.3% of the GMSs who completed the internship had PD. In multivariate analysis, female gender (OR = 1.60; p = 0.015) and having at least one deceased parent (OR = 0.25; p = 0.036) were predictors of PD. Conclusion: PD is a concern for general medicine students in Brazzaville. Among the factors studied, female gender and poor perception of the educational environment are predictors of PD.

Published in Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience (Volume 9, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.cnn.20250904.12
Page(s) 62-68
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Psychological Distress, Students, General Medicine, Congo

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Galieni, S. B. P. E., Armel, M. G., Jessica, N. R., Happia, M. D., Josue, D. E., et al. (2025). Factors Associated with Psychological Distress Among General Medicine Students in Congo. Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience, 9(4), 62-68. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cnn.20250904.12

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    ACS Style

    Galieni, S. B. P. E.; Armel, M. G.; Jessica, N. R.; Happia, M. D.; Josue, D. E., et al. Factors Associated with Psychological Distress Among General Medicine Students in Congo. Clin. Neurol. Neurosci. 2025, 9(4), 62-68. doi: 10.11648/j.cnn.20250904.12

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    AMA Style

    Galieni SBPE, Armel MG, Jessica NR, Happia MD, Josue DE, et al. Factors Associated with Psychological Distress Among General Medicine Students in Congo. Clin Neurol Neurosci. 2025;9(4):62-68. doi: 10.11648/j.cnn.20250904.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.cnn.20250904.12,
      author = {Sounga Bandzouzi Prince Eliot Galieni and Mpandzou Ghislain Armel and Ndingossoka Rosly Jessica and Motoula-Latou Dina Happia and Diatewa Euberma Josue and Gandou Paul and Ngassaki Saurel and Mialoudama Carl Harvey and Ossou-Nguiet Paul Macaire},
      title = {Factors Associated with Psychological Distress Among General Medicine Students in Congo},
      journal = {Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience},
      volume = {9},
      number = {4},
      pages = {62-68},
      doi = {10.11648/j.cnn.20250904.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cnn.20250904.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cnn.20250904.12},
      abstract = {Introduction: Psychological distress (PD) is a negative emotional state resulting from prolonged exposure to a stressor or an accumulation of environmental stressors. Objective: To identify factors associated with PD among general medicine students in Brazzaville. Patients and methods: This was a cross-sectional analytical study. It was carried out over a period of 4 months at the FSSA. It focused on general medicine student (GMSs) from the first to the seventh year of medicine who consented to participate in the study. The variables studied were sociodemographic, academic, related to lifestyle and the medical educational environment, related to psychological distress and related to the need for psychological help and stress management. Results: The prevalence of psychological distress among medical students was 63.4%. The mean age of medical students was 21.5±2.8 years and the sex ratio was 0.6. Both parents were alive in 88.7%. The main source of funding was the parents in 47.5% and 70.3% of the GMSs who completed the internship had PD. In multivariate analysis, female gender (OR = 1.60; p = 0.015) and having at least one deceased parent (OR = 0.25; p = 0.036) were predictors of PD. Conclusion: PD is a concern for general medicine students in Brazzaville. Among the factors studied, female gender and poor perception of the educational environment are predictors of PD.},
     year = {2025}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Factors Associated with Psychological Distress Among General Medicine Students in Congo
    AU  - Sounga Bandzouzi Prince Eliot Galieni
    AU  - Mpandzou Ghislain Armel
    AU  - Ndingossoka Rosly Jessica
    AU  - Motoula-Latou Dina Happia
    AU  - Diatewa Euberma Josue
    AU  - Gandou Paul
    AU  - Ngassaki Saurel
    AU  - Mialoudama Carl Harvey
    AU  - Ossou-Nguiet Paul Macaire
    Y1  - 2025/12/09
    PY  - 2025
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cnn.20250904.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.cnn.20250904.12
    T2  - Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience
    JF  - Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience
    JO  - Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience
    SP  - 62
    EP  - 68
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2578-8930
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cnn.20250904.12
    AB  - Introduction: Psychological distress (PD) is a negative emotional state resulting from prolonged exposure to a stressor or an accumulation of environmental stressors. Objective: To identify factors associated with PD among general medicine students in Brazzaville. Patients and methods: This was a cross-sectional analytical study. It was carried out over a period of 4 months at the FSSA. It focused on general medicine student (GMSs) from the first to the seventh year of medicine who consented to participate in the study. The variables studied were sociodemographic, academic, related to lifestyle and the medical educational environment, related to psychological distress and related to the need for psychological help and stress management. Results: The prevalence of psychological distress among medical students was 63.4%. The mean age of medical students was 21.5±2.8 years and the sex ratio was 0.6. Both parents were alive in 88.7%. The main source of funding was the parents in 47.5% and 70.3% of the GMSs who completed the internship had PD. In multivariate analysis, female gender (OR = 1.60; p = 0.015) and having at least one deceased parent (OR = 0.25; p = 0.036) were predictors of PD. Conclusion: PD is a concern for general medicine students in Brazzaville. Among the factors studied, female gender and poor perception of the educational environment are predictors of PD.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Faculty of Health Sciences, Marien N'GOUABI University, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo;Neurology Department, Loandjili General Hospital, Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo

  • Faculty of Health Sciences, Marien N'GOUABI University, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo;Neurology Department, Brazzaville University Hospital, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo

  • Neurology Department, Brazzaville University Hospital, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo

  • Faculty of Health Sciences, Marien N'GOUABI University, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo;Neurology Department, Brazzaville University Hospital, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo

  • Faculty of Health Sciences, Marien N'GOUABI University, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo;Neurology Department, Brazzaville University Hospital, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo

  • Neurology Department, Brazzaville University Hospital, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo

  • Neurology Department, Loandjili General Hospital, Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo

  • Neurology Department, Loandjili General Hospital, Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo

  • Faculty of Health Sciences, Marien N'GOUABI University, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo;Neurology Department, Brazzaville University Hospital, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo

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