ADULT SEPARATION ANXIETY AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS AT THE MARÍA SERRANA UNIVERSITY OF CIUDAD DEL ESTE IN 2022

Abstract

This paper analyzes the presence of adult separation anxiety in students of the Medicine program at the Universidad María Serrana (UMS) in Ciudad del Este (CDE). Anxiety is one of the most common psychological disorders reported in health centers in the general population and with a greater presence in the university environment. Studying the anxiety and adaptation process of foreign medical students in Paraguay is of great importance, since most university students are not from the country, although they also come from neighboring countries and even from more distant ones. Well-being, one of the objectives of sustainable development, is given by physical and mental well-being, as established by the concept of health of the World Health Organization, which goes beyond just physical well-being or the absence of disease. The main objective is to know if there is anxiety due to separation from the adult and if this affects the students in their performance, according to their perception. A validated survey was conducted to assess adult separation anxiety (ASA-10), using a digital form, to find out whether or not there is stress associated with separation from the adult in students at the UMS CDE headquarters in 2022. In addition, other questions were included in the question form to find out sociodemographic data and, in addition, whether stress caused any effect on the students' lives. We can see that anxiety is more common than people think and that it is also related to separation in the adult, as is the case with students from other countries, mainly Brazil, who come to study Medicine in Paraguay. We can also see that, according to the students' perception, this anxiety affects their life, their ability to perform tasks and their performance in exams. This information coincides with other research by various authors from different parts of the world and Latin America.