Original Research Article
Year: 2018 | Month: August | Volume: 8 | Issue: 8 | Pages: 35-40
Impact of Academic Seniority on General Self-efficacy of Medical students at Taif University
Junaid Burney1, Hussain Alyami2, Ali Almansour3, Abdullah A Alshehri4, Sami M Althobaiti4, Huda D Alsaadi4, Khaled A. Alswat5
1House Officer, Southern District Health Board, Invercargill, New Zealand
2Psychiatry Resident, the Kari Centre, Auckland District Health Board, Auckland, New Zealand
3PhD, School of Medicine, the University of Auckland, New Zealand
4Medical Resident, 5Associate Professor of Medicine, Taif University, School of Medicine, Taif, Saudi Arabia
ABSTRACT
Self- efficacy, which is the individual’s confidence in their ability to perform a particular task, plays an integral role in determining an individual’s chances of success. General self- efficacy of an individual can be influenced by a number of factors including Academic seniority, age and exercise. Medical Professionals increasingly have an underlying need of high self – efficacy levels as they are often exposed to unforeseen situations. We conducted a cross- sectional study amongst 605medical students (year 1 to year 6) at Taif University, Saudi Arabia between August and November 2015 to analyze the impact of academic seniority, gender, exercise, hours of study, smoking and socioeconomic status on levels of total and individual self- efficacy. Students were asked to fill a questionnaire that included demographic and validated General Self- Efficacy scale. Total self- efficacy score of medical students at Taif University was then compared to the international average. Although no significant relationship between total or individual self-efficacy and gender, smoking status, socioeconomic status and other demographic factors was found, we identified a strong proportional relationship between academic seniority and regular exercise to total and individual self-efficacy.
Key words: Self-Efficacy, Academic Seniority, Academic Performance, Medical students, Self-esteem, Confidence.