Introduction.

Today universities provide our country with highly qualified healthcare professionals nationwide. We all know that students of higher medical educational institutions are constantly under great mental stress, due to the specifics of studying in these institutions, the huge amount of material they have to study, and the limited time available for study. The intensive work of medical students is always combined with great emotional stress. This often leads to a decrease in the level of psychological comfort and to an increase in the level of personal and situational anxiety. Psychologists distinguish between these concepts. "Anxiety in the structure of integral individuality refers to the level of relatively neutral personality traits and is understood as the expectation of an unfavorable outcome in relatively neutral, non-threatening situations." Students with high anxiety levels perceive more situations as a threat to their psychological and physical comfort and react to them with anxiety. Anxiety is a negatively colored, intermittent, short–term emotional experience. This psychological phenomenon plays an important role in human life, and concern for the future will allow you to mobilize all body systems in advance, to strengthen their work, to influence the course of cognitive processes and successfully adapt to changing environmental conditions. An increasing level of anxiety and prolonged exposure always negatively affects the condition of a young body, leading to exhaustion, high emotional stress, and decreased cognitive performance, which in turn prevents students from successfully coping with constant heavy academic loads.

The outstanding scientist Ch. Spielberger argued that anxiety is a normal human body state; it is active both in critical situation and in the absence of threat. Accordingly, he distinguishes between reactive anxiety - a short-term response to a current situation; and personal anxiety - an integral personality trait that supposes the perception of a wide range of situations as potentially threatening, even when they are not [1-3]. It is noted that studying at higher medical educational institutions requires high standards for students and frequent knowledge assessment. Many previous studies have revealed a high level of anxiety among medical students. However, it should be noted that the anxiety of medical students is often studied mainly before exams (reactive anxiety); the authors of these studies correlate the obtained indicators with the severity of depression and suicidal risk [6-12]. However, the analysis of personal anxiety in "time free from checkpoints" and its relationship to personality type was not found. In connection with these statements, we have determined the relevance of this study and the connection between personal anxiety and the personality type of medical university students.

Objects and methods of research.

The aim of the research was to identify and describe the anxiety level of the students of Saratov State Medical University and its relationship with various personality types of students of the Faculty of Medicine. During the scientific research, the following methods were used: an anonymous questionnaire in the form of a Spielberger-Khanin scale for self-assessment of anxiety level and a psychogeometric test for personality type.

The Spielberger-Khanin scale for self-assessment of anxiety level includes statements that require choosing one of four possible answers; the processing of results involves scoring; interpretation of indicators is graded by the sum of points: up to 30 points - low anxiety, 31-44 points - moderate anxiety; 45 points or more - high anxiety [4].

The Dellinger psychogeometric test allows you to determine the type of personality and to give a detailed description of the personal qualities of the respondents. Participants had to rank five different shapes (square, triangle, rectangle, circle and zigzag) based on their personal preferences. The first figure is the main one and characterizes the dominant character traits, the fifth figure indicates the form of the person with whom the participant may have the most difficult interaction [5].

The obtained material was processed and synthesized, and the data from literary sources were also analyzed. The materials were transformed using traditional statistical processing (the method of mathematical statistics), with the allocation of ratings and correlations. In the course of the work, a group of 30 5^th-year students from the Saratov State Medical University named after V.I. Razumovsky was interviewed. The group consisted of an equal number of females and male males.

The results of the study.

We conducted the student testing on a standard/regular school day, unrelated to the checkpoints, surveys and modules. The average Spielberger-Khanin value was 40.53 (±10.06). A comparison and analysis of the obtained data and materials revealed the following: in the Spielberger-Khanin personal anxiety test 14 (46.67%) (out of 30 students) had moderate anxiety, 9 students (30%) had high anxiety, and only 7 students (23.33%) had low anxiety. Respondents with moderate anxiety level predominate among men and women, but high anxiety level is more common among women (33.33%) than among men (26.67%). The remaining indicators were approximately equal in the study group.

Проведенный нами психогеометрический тест показал, что фигурой выбора для большинства является треугольник (43,33%). Фигурой отрицания для большинства стал зигзаг (60%).

The performed psychogeometric test showed that the triangle was the most popular chosen figure among the participants (43.33%), while the zigzag became the fifth chosen figure for the majority (60%).

The group of respondents with low and moderate anxiety levels chose the figure of triangle, which defines them as leaders, strong personalities who set clear goals and always achieve them. Such people are usually pragmatic, energetic, and unstoppable. Respondents with a high level of anxiety chose the figure of a circle, which represents them as benevolent, sensitive and empathic individuals with the ability to empathize and respond emotionally to the experiences and feelings of another person. This is the reason for their increased level of anxiety.

Table 1. The rest chosen figures within the groups based on anxiety level

Discussion of the results.

The data we obtained regarding the scale of personal anxiety suggests that the majority of students from the study group tend to perceive a wide range of situations as threatening and react to them with a state of anxiety. People with high marks should develop a strong sense of self-confidence, shifting the focus from demanding and categoricity to setting practical goals and objectives, and their specific planning.

To compare the results of the Spielberger-Khanin test with those of other medical universities, we have found several available studies from colleagues in Smolensk, Kursk, Irkutsk, Poznan (Poland), Dammama (Saudi Arabia), Punjab (Pakistan) which were conducted over the past five years. Thus, a study of 3^rd–year students of the General Medicine Faculty of Irkutsk State Medical University showed that personal anxiety, measured by the Spielberger-Khanin scale, was high in 45.9%, moderate in 52.5%, and absent in 1.6% of participants [6]. Students of Kursk State Medical University who are studying on an extra-budgetary basis experienced significantly higher levels of anxiety before tests (average value is 50.15) compared to students of the budget department (average value is 42.88) [3]. Students of Smolensk State Medical University were divided into courses: the 1^st-year students showed 29.2% of moderate and 59.7% of high, 29.2% of moderate, 10.9% of low levels of personal anxiety; the 4^th-year students showed 28.3%, 52.2%, 19.5% of levels of personal anxiety respectively; while the 6^th-year students showed 32.2%, 48.2%, 19.6% of high, moderate and low values [7]. The study of personal anxiety levels among the 3^rd-year medical students at the Poznan University of Medical Sciences revealed 32.14% of high and 41.67% of low values [8]. Among medical students at Imam Abdurrahman bin Faisal University (IAU) in Dammam, the average level of anxiety before exams was 43.17 = 10.58; this indicated a predominance of moderate anxiety level [10]. 51,8% of medical university students from Punjab province in Pakistan experienced severe anxiety before the exam [11].

High and moderate levels of anxiety are the most common; this may indicate similar psychological qualities of medical students from different regions and countries.

A psychogeometric test conducted among the respondents revealed that they more often chose the figure of triangle. This characterizes medical students as energetic and strong personalities who are capable of quick concentration with a clear analysis of the situation. Such people are categorical, competitive, and have difficulty admitting their mistakes.

The zigzag became a figure of nonconformity. It represents a creative personality, with intuitiveness and imaginative thinking. Such young people value their independence, ignoring convention and clear organization.

There is also a study of the personality type of medical students using a psychogeometric test by other authors. Colleagues conducted an analysis among students of the III and IV courses of the medical university. The result showed that students of both courses were more likely to choose a figure of circle. This figure characterizes a person as being empathetic, trying to maintain peace by avoiding interpersonal conflicts [12].

Conclusions.

Due to the special nature of the medical profession and the relatively low level of overall psycho-emotional stress experienced during the course of this study, the respondents of the General Medicine Faculty were found to have an average level of personal anxiety at the moment. Our research has shown that high and moderate levels of anxiety are more often an integral part of a medical student's personality, due to the triangle as a reference point for professional life. The results prove that by the 5^th course, students are becoming more balanced in their careers, they are preparing for the inevitable competition for admission to residency and obtaining a prestigious job. They are entering into an adult, professional life where they will be responsible for the lives of many patients.