The Relationship between Self-Esteem and Academic Stress of Students of Shahroud University of Medical Sciences in the Academic Year 2020-2021

Introduction: Medical students are exposed to many different stressors that endanger their health. Objective: Since increasing self-esteem is one of the effective factors in coping with stress. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between self-esteem and academic stress of students of Shahroud University of Medical Sciences during 2020-2021. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 260 students of Shahroud University of Medical Sciences by simple random sampling. Data were collected using three questionnaires: demographic, Cooper-Smith self-esteem and Godzella academic stress. Data were collected by SPSS18 using descriptive statistics and correlation test (P<0.05). Results: This study showed that 260 students participating in the study were 167 (64.2%) female and the rest were male. The mean age of participants was 21.88±3.001 years and the majority (60.4%) was 21-24 years old. The mean of self-esteem among students was 34.61±7.91, and the mean of academic stress was 134.04±28.29. Moreover, there was a significant relationship (P=0.012) between self-esteem and academic stress, increasing self-esteem decreases students’ academic stress. Discussion and Conclusion: Given the inverse relationship between self-esteem and academic stress, the design of interventions and strategies to increase self-esteem in students should be one of the concerns of higher education policymakers.