Abstract

Background: The high demands of medical education and body feature impact the psychological well-being of a student. This study was aimed at assessing the relationship between internalizing behavior, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) features, and substance use among medical students.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 155 medical students of both genders from pre-clinical years and clinical years in the College of Medicine from November 2019 to May 2020. Two self-administered validated questionnaires, depression, anxiety and stress scale and body image disturbance questionnaire, were employed for the data collection. Chi-square analysis was done to compare the responses of students. A test with a p value < 0.05 was declared as significant.
Results: There were a total of 155 participants; male students accounted for 69.7% (n = 108), and female students accounted for 30.3% (n = 47). In addition, first- and fourth-year medical students constituted nearly 60% of the total participants. Overall, depression, anxiety, and stress were found among 45.2%, 55.5%, and 33.3% of students, respectively. Out of the total subjects, 12.9% of the medical students reported BDD features. Moreover, 23.9% of the participants admitted to substance use for relief from the internalizing behaviors and BDD from which they were suffering. However, 23.7% of the subjects with nobody’s dysmorphic disorder also reported substance use.
Conclusion: It has been concluded that there is a positive association between internalizing behaviors and BDD
features among medical students. Substance use was found more common in students with BDD.

Key words: Body dysmorphic features, internalizing behavior, stress, depression, anxiety