Keywords
interdisciplinary differences
medical students
health sciences students
academic achievements
Abstract
Self-efficacy refers to ones’ beliefs in his or her
own ability to perform and complete novel tasks or to cope with
adversity in challenging situations. It is an important aspect of the
self-concept and has been linked to the one’s academic
achievement, life satisfaction and self-esteem. The present study
aimed to investigate the interdisciplinary differences in general
self-efficacy (GSE) among medical and health sciences students
at SEGi University, Malaysia. The effects of demographic factors
on GSE, as well as the effects of GSE on the students’ academic
achievements were also explored.
Materials & Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involved
86 medical, 81 dental and 64 optometry Year 1 and Year 2
students at a Malaysian private university. The General Self
Efficacy Scale (GSES) was used to assess the GSE of the
participants. Analysis of data was carried out using the Statistical
Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 22.
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and t-test were used for
comparisons of means. Relationship between two continuous
variables was determined using Pearson’s correlation. A p value
of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Findings showed significant interdisciplinary
differences in mean GSE scores among medical, dental and
optometry students. Various demographic factors were observed
to play a role in the GSE of the students. However, the GSE of
high achievers and non-high achievers did not differ significantly.
Conclusions: Age, gender, nationality, family income and the
type of course and accommodation of students were factors
affecting the GSE, but GSE had no significant influence of the
academic achievements of students.
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