Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Resilience in Medical Students: A Multicenter Study from 13 Latin American Countries

Mario J. Valladares-Garrido; J. Pierre Zila-Velasque; Ludwing A. Zeta Solis; David Astudillo Rueda; Renzo Acosta-Porzoliz; C. Ichiro Peralta Chiguala; Fatima Jiménez-Mozo; Christopher G. Valdiviezo-Morales; E. Sebastian Benavides Alburqueque; Estrella Christabel Porras Núñez; Helena Dominguez-Troncos; Víctor J. Vera-Ponce; Danai Valladares-Garrido; César J. Pereira-Victorio; Carlos Culquichicón; Oriana Rivera-Lozada; Cristian Diaz-Velez

doi:10.1177/24705470261430113

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Resilience in Medical Students: A Multicenter Study from 13 Latin American Countries

Mario J. Valladares-Garrido
, J. Pierre Zila-Velasque
, Ludwing A. Zeta Solis
, David Astudillo Rueda
, Renzo Acosta-Porzoliz
, C. Ichiro Peralta Chiguala
, Fatima Jiménez-Mozo
, Christopher G. Valdiviezo-Morales
, E. Sebastian Benavides Alburqueque
, Estrella Christabel Porras Núñez
, Helena Dominguez-Troncos
, Víctor J. Vera-Ponce
, Danai Valladares-Garrido
, César J. Pereira-Victorio
, Carlos Culquichicón
, Oriana Rivera-Lozada
, Cristian Diaz-Velez

Faculty of health sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Original Article › peer-review

Abstract

Background: Despite efforts in the literature to address posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) linked to COVID-19, there is a knowledge gap in understanding the specific role of resilience as a potential mitigator in this scenario, particularly in the setting of future medical professionals. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, multicenter study among medical students from 13 Latin American countries between June and September 2020, using a non-probabilistic convenience sampling strategy. PTSD symptoms, resilience, sleep quality, insomnia, burnout syndrome, physical activity, and socioeducational variables were assessed using validated instruments. Associations between PTSD and resilience, as well as other covariates, were evaluated using generalized linear models with Poisson distribution and robust variance, reporting prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). A total of 2019 medical students were included in the analysis. Results: The prevalence of PTSD was 12.3% (95%CI: 10.88-13.79) and 37.5% had high resilience (95%CI: 35.38-39.65). Students with high levels of resilience had a 37% lower prevalence of PTSD compared with students with low resilience (PR: 0.63). Conclusions: Higher levels of resilience were associated with a lower prevalence of PTSD symptoms among medical students. These findings underscore the substantial psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this population and support the implementation of institutional resilience-building and mental health support strategies, integrated into medical education, as a preventive approach to mitigate the mental health consequences of future epidemics and health-related disasters.

Original language	American English
Journal	Chronic Stress
Volume	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/24705470261430113
State	Indexed - 1 Jan 2026

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

COVID-19
Latin America
medical students
mental health
pandemic
posttraumatic stress

Access to Document

10.1177/24705470261430113

Cite this

Valladares-Garrido, M. J., Zila-Velasque, J. P., Zeta Solis, L. A., Astudillo Rueda, D., Acosta-Porzoliz, R., Chiguala, C. I. P., Jiménez-Mozo, F., Valdiviezo-Morales, C. G., Benavides Alburqueque, E. S., Porras Núñez, E. C., Dominguez-Troncos, H., Vera-Ponce, V. J., Valladares-Garrido, D., Pereira-Victorio, C. J., Culquichicón, C., Rivera-Lozada, O., & Diaz-Velez, C. (2026). Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Resilience in Medical Students: A Multicenter Study from 13 Latin American Countries. Chronic Stress, 10. https://doi.org/10.1177/24705470261430113

@article{a9500f2a82e54c7482d5ad67334af33f,

title = "Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Resilience in Medical Students: A Multicenter Study from 13 Latin American Countries",

abstract = "Background: Despite efforts in the literature to address posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) linked to COVID-19, there is a knowledge gap in understanding the specific role of resilience as a potential mitigator in this scenario, particularly in the setting of future medical professionals. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, multicenter study among medical students from 13 Latin American countries between June and September 2020, using a non-probabilistic convenience sampling strategy. PTSD symptoms, resilience, sleep quality, insomnia, burnout syndrome, physical activity, and socioeducational variables were assessed using validated instruments. Associations between PTSD and resilience, as well as other covariates, were evaluated using generalized linear models with Poisson distribution and robust variance, reporting prevalence ratios (PR) and 95\% confidence intervals (95\% CI). A total of 2019 medical students were included in the analysis. Results: The prevalence of PTSD was 12.3\% (95\%CI: 10.88-13.79) and 37.5\% had high resilience (95\%CI: 35.38-39.65). Students with high levels of resilience had a 37\% lower prevalence of PTSD compared with students with low resilience (PR: 0.63). Conclusions: Higher levels of resilience were associated with a lower prevalence of PTSD symptoms among medical students. These findings underscore the substantial psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this population and support the implementation of institutional resilience-building and mental health support strategies, integrated into medical education, as a preventive approach to mitigate the mental health consequences of future epidemics and health-related disasters.",

keywords = "COVID-19, Latin America, medical students, mental health, pandemic, posttraumatic stress",

author = "Valladares-Garrido, \{Mario J.\} and Zila-Velasque, \{J. Pierre\} and \{Zeta Solis\}, \{Ludwing A.\} and \{Astudillo Rueda\}, David and Renzo Acosta-Porzoliz and Chiguala, \{C. Ichiro Peralta\} and Fatima Jim{\'e}nez-Mozo and Valdiviezo-Morales, \{Christopher G.\} and \{Benavides Alburqueque\}, \{E. Sebastian\} and \{Porras N{\'u}{\~n}ez\}, \{Estrella Christabel\} and Helena Dominguez-Troncos and Vera-Ponce, \{V{\'i}ctor J.\} and Danai Valladares-Garrido and Pereira-Victorio, \{C{\'e}sar J.\} and Carlos Culquichic{\'o}n and Oriana Rivera-Lozada and Cristian Diaz-Velez",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).",

year = "2026",

month = jan,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1177/24705470261430113",

language = "American English",

volume = "10",

journal = "Chronic Stress",

issn = "2470-5470",

publisher = "SAGE Publications Inc.",

}

Valladares-Garrido, MJ, Zila-Velasque, JP, Zeta Solis, LA, Astudillo Rueda, D, Acosta-Porzoliz, R, Chiguala, CIP, Jiménez-Mozo, F, Valdiviezo-Morales, CG, Benavides Alburqueque, ES, Porras Núñez, EC, Dominguez-Troncos, H, Vera-Ponce, VJ, Valladares-Garrido, D, Pereira-Victorio, CJ, Culquichicón, C, Rivera-Lozada, O & Diaz-Velez, C 2026, 'Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Resilience in Medical Students: A Multicenter Study from 13 Latin American Countries', Chronic Stress, vol. 10. https://doi.org/10.1177/24705470261430113

TY - JOUR

T1 - Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Resilience in Medical Students

T2 - A Multicenter Study from 13 Latin American Countries

AU - Valladares-Garrido, Mario J.

AU - Zila-Velasque, J. Pierre

AU - Zeta Solis, Ludwing A.

AU - Astudillo Rueda, David

AU - Acosta-Porzoliz, Renzo

AU - Chiguala, C. Ichiro Peralta

AU - Jiménez-Mozo, Fatima

AU - Valdiviezo-Morales, Christopher G.

AU - Benavides Alburqueque, E. Sebastian

AU - Porras Núñez, Estrella Christabel

AU - Dominguez-Troncos, Helena

AU - Vera-Ponce, Víctor J.

AU - Valladares-Garrido, Danai

AU - Pereira-Victorio, César J.

AU - Culquichicón, Carlos

AU - Rivera-Lozada, Oriana

AU - Diaz-Velez, Cristian

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

PY - 2026/1/1

Y1 - 2026/1/1

N2 - Background: Despite efforts in the literature to address posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) linked to COVID-19, there is a knowledge gap in understanding the specific role of resilience as a potential mitigator in this scenario, particularly in the setting of future medical professionals. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, multicenter study among medical students from 13 Latin American countries between June and September 2020, using a non-probabilistic convenience sampling strategy. PTSD symptoms, resilience, sleep quality, insomnia, burnout syndrome, physical activity, and socioeducational variables were assessed using validated instruments. Associations between PTSD and resilience, as well as other covariates, were evaluated using generalized linear models with Poisson distribution and robust variance, reporting prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). A total of 2019 medical students were included in the analysis. Results: The prevalence of PTSD was 12.3% (95%CI: 10.88-13.79) and 37.5% had high resilience (95%CI: 35.38-39.65). Students with high levels of resilience had a 37% lower prevalence of PTSD compared with students with low resilience (PR: 0.63). Conclusions: Higher levels of resilience were associated with a lower prevalence of PTSD symptoms among medical students. These findings underscore the substantial psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this population and support the implementation of institutional resilience-building and mental health support strategies, integrated into medical education, as a preventive approach to mitigate the mental health consequences of future epidemics and health-related disasters.

AB - Background: Despite efforts in the literature to address posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) linked to COVID-19, there is a knowledge gap in understanding the specific role of resilience as a potential mitigator in this scenario, particularly in the setting of future medical professionals. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, multicenter study among medical students from 13 Latin American countries between June and September 2020, using a non-probabilistic convenience sampling strategy. PTSD symptoms, resilience, sleep quality, insomnia, burnout syndrome, physical activity, and socioeducational variables were assessed using validated instruments. Associations between PTSD and resilience, as well as other covariates, were evaluated using generalized linear models with Poisson distribution and robust variance, reporting prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). A total of 2019 medical students were included in the analysis. Results: The prevalence of PTSD was 12.3% (95%CI: 10.88-13.79) and 37.5% had high resilience (95%CI: 35.38-39.65). Students with high levels of resilience had a 37% lower prevalence of PTSD compared with students with low resilience (PR: 0.63). Conclusions: Higher levels of resilience were associated with a lower prevalence of PTSD symptoms among medical students. These findings underscore the substantial psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this population and support the implementation of institutional resilience-building and mental health support strategies, integrated into medical education, as a preventive approach to mitigate the mental health consequences of future epidemics and health-related disasters.

KW - COVID-19

KW - Latin America

KW - medical students

KW - mental health

KW - pandemic

KW - posttraumatic stress

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105032261721

U2 - 10.1177/24705470261430113

DO - 10.1177/24705470261430113

M3 - Original Article

AN - SCOPUS:105032261721

SN - 2470-5470

VL - 10

JO - Chronic Stress

JF - Chronic Stress

ER -

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Resilience in Medical Students: A Multicenter Study from 13 Latin American Countries

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this