Abstract
Studies about the mental health in physicians and medical students show a high prevalence of depressive and abusive disorders and an increased risk of suicide. This is especially true in females. We propose the assumption that maladaptive feelings of guilt may contribute to the observed vulnerability. The objective of the study was to compare feelings of guilt in a sample of medical students with a sample of psychotherapy patients and a representative sample of the German population. A total of 1089 subjects filled in a previously published questionnaire measuring feelings of guilt on three subscales: (1) guilt about having survived, (2) guilt about a separation, and (3) guilt about a feeling of responsibility. The total score is highest in psychotherapy patients. In accordance with our expectation, however, female students show about the same amount of guilt as the psychotherapy patients in the third subscale. This may contribute to an increased mental vulnerability.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.