Perceived Stress Among Faculty and First Year Students at a College of Pharmacy

Purpose: Female faculty and students could be affected by stressors disproportionately compared to male counterparts, especially those with children or family obligations. A study was undertaken to determine: 1) stress levels of pharmacy faculty and first-year pharmacy students; 2) whether gender affected faculty and/or student stress levels disproportionally; and 3) how child and family care responsibilities influenced stress levels. Methods: All first-year (P1) students enrolled in a College of Pharmacy were surveyed along with faculty. Stress levels were assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS10). Additional demographic information, including items related to children and family obligations, was collected. Results: Faculty reported average perceived stress levels (M=15.50) while first-year students reported high perceived stress levels (M=21.14). Perceived stress levels of female faculty (M=16.43) were higher than those of male faculty (M=12.00). Perceived stress levels of female students (M=22.60) were higher than those of male students (M=16.78). Perceived stress levels of female faculty with younger children (M=18.85) were higher than those of male faculty with younger children (M=9.67). Perceived stress levels of female students with ≥10 hours of family obligations per week (M=22.71) were higher than male pharmacy students with ≥10 hours (M=12.80). Conclusion: Lower levels of perceived stress for faculty compared to students may be due to the development of coping strategies coinciding with maturity. Results suggest more time spent on family obligations is negatively associated with stress levels for females, but not males. Colleges of pharmacy should invest resources to help reduce stress levels in faculty and student populations, particularly for the female gender.