How to cite this article: Sagayaraj K, N Sivarajan, C N Ram Gopal. Comparison between medical and non-medical college students on the level of stress. MedPulse International Journal of Surgery. May 2018; 6(2): 57-61. https://www.medpulse.in/Surgery/ Original Research Article Comparison between medical and non-medical college students on the level of stress Sagayaraj K 1 , N Sivarajan 2* , C N Ram Gopal 3 { 1 M sc 1st year, Counselling, 3 Professor, Department of Psychology}, { 2 Professor, General Surgery Department}, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, (Deemed to be University), Kanchipuram Dist., Kelambakkam, Tamil Nadu - 603 103. INDIA. Email: sombhu42@gmail.com Abstract Stress is anunpleasant emotional state which caused by both internal and external factors. Stress affects people in different ways and levels. College students, especially those who joined after schooling faces many issues to cope up their new college environment. In this transition period they face financial, emotional and academic difficulties. This study is thus dedicated to measure the level of stress and different sources of stress such as (College; Money; Relationships; Body, mindand feelings) among the newly joined medical (MBBS and BDS) and non-medical (Arts and science) college students in a selected deemed university at Chennai. A sample of 60 students (30 medical and 30 non- medical) between the age of 17 to 19 years were taken up for the study by using a purposive sampling technique. The adapted stress questionnaire by Barreca and Hepler (2000) is used to collect the data and the results were statistically analyzed. The results revealed that the medical students are more stressed when compared to the non-medical students and for both the population, stress level is found to be high on body, mindand feelings. Key Words: Stress, college, students, mental health, stressors, undergraduate students. * Address for Correspondence: Dr. N. Sivarajan, Professor, General Surgery Department, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, (Deemed to be University), Kanchipuram Dist., Kelambakkam, Tamil Nadu - 603 103. INDIA. Email: sombhu42@gmail.com Received Date: 22/01/2018 Revised Date: 17/02/2018 Accepted Date: 21/03/2018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26611/106627 INTRODUCTION Stress is a negative emotional experience accompanied by predictable physiological, cognitive, and behavioral changes (Taylor 2015). The causes of stress could be either physical or psychological. In other words, stress is anything that speeds upor tenses our bodies (Leka 2003).Increasing in stress among the young generation is an alarming situation for us (Pandey 2014).For many students, college is the first time that they have stayed away from home or been away from their family. Besides that, it’s a very unfamiliar environment (Cohen 2018). College and university counseling centers are facing an increase in the number of students seeking help on stress (Winerman 2017). It is known to us that stress is a part of student life (Leka 2003), but many students find that they can reduce their level of stress by enhancing proper coping strategies. College level students are subjected to several sources of stress primarily to entering in a new phase of developmental stage called young adulthood (Shkulaku 2015). College is a stressful time period for many students as they undergo through the process of adapting to new educational and social environments (Misra and Gastillo 2004). Erikson (1968), stating that in this transition period of young adulthood they are facing issues with intimate relationships, career choice, moving away from home, getting a job etc. Therefore, the transition from high school to college or university level is often accompanied with high level of stress. In the literature, it has been noted that the several studies on stress have been conducted on different streams of college students (Beck and Srivastava, 1991; Leisa et al., 2008; Ratanasiripong et al., 2012; Pandey 2014; Misra et al 2000; Shkulaku 2015; Awadh et al 2013; Misra and Gastillo 2004; Bamuhair et al., 2015),). The objectives of Access this article online Quick Response Code: Website: www.medpulse.in Accessed Dat e: 15 M ay 2018