STRESS COPING MECHANISMS AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS AT PAMO UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA.

This study investigated stress coping mechanisms among medical students at PAMO University of Medical Sciences (PUMS), a private medical school in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Stress remains a prominent concern in medical education due to the academic, emotional, and professional pressures students face. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional design involving 431 students from levels 100 to 600, selected through stratified and simple random sampling. A structured, pretested, validated, self-administered questionnaire was used to gather data. Major stressors identified included academic workload (89.8%), fear of failure (84%), poor sleep due to academic obligations (81.7%), and limited personal time (79.4%). Additional stressors included faculty expectations, financial challenges, family pressure, hospital postings, and romantic relationships. Awareness of coping mechanisms was generally high, except in the cases of overworking (35.3%) and excessive food and caffeine intake (43.9%). Positive coping mechanisms were more commonly utilized, with humor and entertainment being the most frequently employed (88.6%), while fewer students engaged in exercise (36.0%). Among the negative coping mechanisms, self-isolation was most prevalent (50.8%). Participants rated humor and entertainment (mean=4.28) as the most effective mechanism, followed by prayer/spiritual practices (4.10). Avoidance (2.97) and overworking (2.98) were read as least effective. Although 91.6% of students were unaware of available institutional mental health services, 86.1% of those who accessed them rated the services positively. No significant association was found between sociodemographic characteristics and coping choices, except for birth position, which influenced awareness. The study recommends improved institutional support through accessible mental health services, stress education, peer mentoring, andcurriculum integration of stress management.