Intervention Study Of Williams Life Skills Training On Psychological Health Of Medical Students

ObjectiveTo explore the efficacy of Williams Life Skills Training on psychological health of medical students.Methods82 volunteers from eight-year medical students of Grade 2004, Xiangya school of Medicine, Central South University were assigned to the study group(n=40) and the control group(n=42) based on the different hospitals of their internship. A 8-week Williams LifeSkills Training(WLST) was taken for the students in the study group, while the controls did not take any training course. The data of 36 students(male 15, female 21) in the study group and 37 students(male 15, female 22) in the control group was qualified for the statistic analysis in the current study. All subjects were assessed with Life Event Scale(LES), Trait Coping Style Questionnaire(TCSQ), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale(SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale(SDS), Interpersonal Support Evaluation List(ISEL) and Self-Esteem Scale(SES) before and after the WLST.Results1. Compared with the baseline, the total scores of SAS and SDS decreased significantly in the study group(P<0.05), but no significant reduction was found in the control group(P>0.05).2. Compared with the baseline and control group, the stimulus quantity of social communication and other problems decreased significantly in the study group(P<0.05), but no significant change was found in the control group(P>0.05).3. Compared with the baseline, the score of positive coping increased significantly(P< 0.05) and the score of negative coping decreased significantly in the study group(P<0.01), but no significant change was found in the control group(P>0.05).4. Compared with the baseline, the scores of Tangible support, Belonging support and Self-Esteem support increased significantly in the study group(P<0.05), especially the total support score(P<0.001), but no significant change was found in the control group(P>0.05).5. Compared with the baseline, the total score of SES increased significantly in the study group(P<0.01), but no significant change was found in the control group(P>0.05).Conclusions1. WLST could effectively decrease the level of anxiety and depression in medical students.2. WLST could effectively improve the coping styles of medical students by means of skill training simulating stressful situation, which could improve their capacities to cope with the pressure or stress.3. WLST could improve interpersonal relationships of medical students by enhancing their verbal expression and communication skills, which could thereby strengthen their social supports.4. WLST may take a positive role in promoting the level of self-esteem in medical students.