Stress is experienced by college students at different educational levels, but colleges can help reduce its destructive forms. There are explanations of why students perform badly under stress, such as "hypervigilance" (i.e., overstudying for an exam) and "premature closure" (i.e., rushing through an exam). Situations that are…

An exploratory study suggests that legal and medical training can have a negative impact on marriage: role behaviors learned during professional socialization and transferred to the spouse role are not conducive to a satisfying marital relationship, and student and spouse roles compete for time and personal commitment. (MSE)

Administration of the Derogatis Stress Profile to 509 medical students, 380 law students, and 215 graduate students at McGill University (Ontario) revealed that medical students are not greatly stressed relative to other groups, so other explanations must be sought for elevated levels of depression in some. One clear stressor found is the…

A study of University of Arizona law and medical students revealed no difference in overall stress levels, but law students showed higher stress on the academic and fear-of-failing subscales. Some specific program areas were more stressful, certain stressors were found to be held in common, and support system use differed. (MSE)

A study of the distress experienced by male and female law students in all three years of law school, as measured by a validated psychiatric symptom survey insrument, also compared the distress of law students to that of with medical students. (MSE)

A comparative study of medical and law students was undertaken to examine the sources and consequences of stress during professional training and the impact of stress on personal relationships. Women reported significantly more stress than men. (Author/MLW)

This project evaluated and compared the values used by medical and law students when dealing with ethical dilemmas in the practice of law and medicine. The Professional Decisions and Values Test was given to 77 medical students and 92 law students. Differences were noted on beneficence, professional responsibility, and harm avoidance. (MLW)

A study compared the attitudes toward change held by students preparing for careers as teachers, nurses, medical doctors, and lawyers. It was hypothesized that: (1) education majors are less likely to be open to change than other students; (2) education and nursing ("semi-professions") majors are less likely to be open to change than other…

Educational loan limits for graduate and professional students were estimated to provide manageable repayments that were a proportion of the borrowers' future consumption budget data. Based on each professional group's income profile, loan repayments were computed for each year of repayment and summed across alternative repayment periods to arrive…

The extent to which value orientations of professional students differ by occupational groups and by the socializing effects of professional schools on students was assessed. Approximately 1,150 students in nine major doctoral-granting universities participated. Based on work by Bengtson (1975), a humanism/materialism score was constructed for…

Stresses experienced by college students at different educational levels are considered, along with ways that colleges can help reduce destructive forms of stress. After discussing how stress and coping are related, problems in defining stress and coping are considered, and models are proposed for understanding stress. Following an overview on the…

A survey of medical, law, and chemistry and psychology graduate students' perceived stresses (academic activities, personal relationships, time pressures, and financial concerns) contradicted the expectation that medical students' stress level would be highest. Time restrictions and economic and academic issues produced the highest stress. (MSE)

Excerpts from interviews with Black students and graduates from Harvard Law and Medical Schools reveal the concern of these minority professionals as representatives of the Black community. Their experiences in graduate school and later in their professions are described. (JMF)

Trends in the level of borrowing by graduate and professional students, and the capacity of students to repay their education debt are considered. In addition, sources of debt data and implications of this information for national student aid and data collection policy are addressed. Attention is also directed to levels of indebtedness between…