Psychological, Sociodemographic, and Lifestyle Correlates of Anxiety in Romanian Medical and Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Highlights What are the main findings? • In 483 Romanian medical and nursing students, 43% screened positive for elevated anxiety (HADS-A ≥ 8), whereas sociodemographic and lifestyle variables (faculty, study year, sex, partner status, living arrangement, siblings, pets, hobbies) showed only small, non-significant associations with anxiety.• A principal component combining wellbeing, self-esteem, and conscientiousness with low procrastination and neuroticism showed the strongest association with anxiety in every model (β = −0.77; OR = 0.14 per SD); in an exploratory analysis, the procrastination–anxiety association was largely accounted for by wellbeing. What are the implications of the main findings? • Within the variables measured, psychological characteristics were more strongly associated with anxiety than sociodemographic or lifestyle factors, suggesting that demographic risk profiles alone are unlikely to identify students at risk.• Longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to establish whether self-regulation and wellbeing represent modifiable targets for reducing anxiety in health-sciences students. Abstract Introduction: Anxiety is highly prevalent among health-sciences students, yet the relative strength of its sociodemographic, social-contextual, and psychological correlates is rarely examined within a single sample. This cross-sectional study examined the associations of these domains with anxiety in Romanian medical and nursing students within an integrated biopsychosocial framework. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 483 first- to third-year Medicine and Nursing students at the “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galați. Anxiety was measured with the HADS-A. Predictors included sociodemographics, lifestyle variables, the Big Five, Rosenberg Self-Esteem, WHO-5 Wellbeing, and a procrastination scale. Missing data were addressed via multiple imputation. Analyses included pooled correlations, group comparisons, principal component analysis with Promax rotation, hierarchical regression, bootstrapped mediation, and logistic regression. Results: Among students with observed scores, 40.8% screened positive for elevated anxiety (HADS-A ≥ 8; 43.0% after imputation). Sociodemographic and lifestyle variables showed small associations that were not statistically significant after adjustment. A principal component combining wellbeing, self-esteem, and conscientiousness with low procrastination and neuroticism showed the strongest association with anxiety across all models. In an exploratory analysis, the procrastination–anxiety association was largely accounted for by wellbeing. Discussion: Within the variables measured, psychological characteristics were more strongly associated with anxiety than sociodemographic or lifestyle factors. Conclusions: Self-regulation and wellbeing merit attention as potential targets for future longitudinal and intervention research in health-sciences students.