Dental students in Northern Ireland in 1992 and 1995: changing trends in psychological stress

The political violence which took place in Northern Ireland was hypothesise d (Fraser, Brit. J. Psychiat. 1971; 118: 257-264; Lyons, Brit. J. Psychiat. 1971; 118: 265-273; Lyons, J. Psychosomat. Res. 1979; 23: 373-393) to incr ease psychological stress in its population. This assumption led to the val idity of work conducted in 1992 to assess Belfast dental students' stress t o be questioned by researchers. An identical survey of clinical students wa s conducted in 1995, during the 1994-96 cease-fire in order to compare this additional cohort with the original cohort of clinical students' (from 199 2) psychological stress. One hundred and seventy-nine students, in total, c ompleted the occupational stress indicator. The results showed that there w as no effect of year or the interaction of gender by par for sources of str ess, type A behaviour, social support, health behaviours or stress outcomes . The main effect of gender explained differences in social support, alcoho l consumption and the outcomes of stress tie physical and mental ill-health ). The findings suggest that social support, cohesiveness and group identit y may act to contain the psychological stress associated with the political violence in Northern Ireland. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.