Journal of Social Behavior and Community Health

en Assessment and Comparison of Distress and Suicidal Behavior in Medical and Paramedical Students روانشناسی Psychology Original Article Background: The sudden outbreak of coronavirus disease in 2019 resulted in major changes in  mental health of healthcare workers as the front line of fighting against thedisease. Medical students who were from the main members of healthcare workers suffered double pressure. The goal of current study was evaluation of suicidal behavior and psychological distress in medical and paramedical students to determine the mental health status of these students by identifying the mentioned factors. Methods: This is an applied, comparative and cross-sectional study. The sample members (302 participants) were selected by accessible method from medical students in Masih Daneshvari Hospital in 2023-2024. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) and Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R) were completed by all the participants. Data were analyzed by T, Chi square, Pearson and ANOVA tests by SPSS-22. Results: The highest and lowest risk of suicide was between interns (M=7.37) and fellowships (M=3.71), respectively. The highest and the lowest score of psychological distress was between interns (M=10.82)  and paramedical PhD students (M=6.9), respectively. Men had suicidal thought or attempt more than twice as likely as women (7.69% vs. 2.35%). The probability of suicide in future was more in men than women (1.53% vs. 0). There was a strong and significant (P ≤0.00) correlation between questions of suicidal behavior questionnaire and psychological distress. Conclusion: The higher scores of suicide and psychological distress of medical students in primary educational years, can reflect the high pressure volume, which they gain more compatibility, skill and ability for coping with the problems over time. By achieving the results of the current study, researchers would pay attention to psychological issues in healthcare workers, probable problems would be solved, and eventually, treatment of patients would done by more confidence Medical education, Psychological distress, Suicide 1570 1579 http://sbrh.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-521-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mitra Safa mitra.safa@yahoo.com 0000-0003-3923-7833 No Clinical Tuberculosis and Epidemiology Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Maryam Sadat Mirenayat maryam.mirenayat@gmail.com 0000-0002-0852-1666 No Pulmonary Rehabilitation Research Center (PRRC), National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mohsen Abedi mohsenabedi110@gmail.com 0000-0002-9520-9645 No Pulmonary Rehabilitation Research Center (PRRC), National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Atefeh Fakharian fakharian_2005@yahoo.com 0000-0002-9740-6634 No Pulmonary Rehabilitation Research Center (PRRC), National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Negin Ansari 0009_0006_3675_9272 No Faculty of literature and humanities, Lorestan University, Khoram Abad, Iran Mahsan Norouz Afjeh mahsan.afjei@gmail.com 0000-0001-5407-0053 No Pulmonary Rehabilitation Research Center (PRRC), National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Farzaneh Haji Zadeh farzaneh.hajizadeh@yahoo.com 0000-0001-5915-3210 No National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Fatemeh Ghassem Boroujerdi anahita86@yahoo.com 0000-0003-1231-5571 Yes Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran