Analysis of anxiety variables in dental students

Personality, stress factors, gender and personal circumstances have been studied in dental students and a change in anxiety levels has been discovered over the different academic years that make up the degree course. Objectives: To analyse the variation in anxiety over the different years and to determine any variation between the genders, in dental students at the Madrid Complutense University. Method: Eight scales of the Inventory of Anxiety Situations and Responses were administered to 110 students, of both genders, from the 1(st), 3(rd) and 5(th) years. Results: Mean scores were obtained for the eight scales, separately by year and for gender. In general the women showed a higher anxiety level in the scales for cognitive, physiological, motor, general and assessment anxiety responses. Anxiety in the 3(rd) year was higher than in the 1(st) year. The lowest levels were found in the 5(th) year. Discussion: High anxiety levels increase the risk of suffering illness and make it necessary to plan educational control strategies bearing in mind the factors which stress men or women and the activities carried out in each academic year.