Journal of Health Sciences & Surveillance System

Assessment of the Attributional Styles of High- and Low-grade Point Medical Students at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences: A Cross-sectional and Descriptive Study

Document Type : Short Communication

Authors

Padideh Daneii 1
Vida Sarmadi 1
Negin Mahmoudi 2
Amir Kian Moaveni 2
Fatemeh Mohammad Alizadeh 3
Sina Neshat 1
Armindokht Shahsanaee 4

1 School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

2 School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

3 School of Medicine, Gilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran

4 Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Hezar Jarib Street, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30476/jhsss.2021.91891.1249
Abstract
Background : Academic failure is one of the most important issues for both family and students. It has many adverse consequences on students' mental health. Therefore, understanding the factors that influence academic achievement can help reduce academic failure and thus improve students' physical, mental, and educational status. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between students' attributional styles and academic achievement in medical students at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.
Methods: The present study has a cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical design. Cronbach's alpha coefficient confirmed the reliability of the ASQ (Attributional Styles Questionnaire) questionnaire for each subscale . The sampling method in this study was census and consisted of 76 First- and Seven- Semester medical students at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. In this study, Attributional Styles Questionnaire (ASQ) was used to measure attributional styles. Descriptive statistics and independent sample t-test were used through SPSS software version 25 for data analysis.
Results: The results showed there is a significant relationship between  optimistic and pessimistic attributions and academic achievement. In terms of the overall score of the questionnaire, positive and negative attributions were significantly higher in medical students with higher grade point averages than students with lower grade point averages and academic probation (P <0.05).
Conclusion: It can be concluded that there is a significant relationship between the medical students’ attribution styles at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and their academic achievement.

Keywords

Academic failure
Attributional styles
Iran
Medical students
1. Salehi S, Yrgholi R, Moaghi M. Relationship between cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies and academic success in medical–surgical nursing courses. Iranian Journal of Medical Education. 2013 Nov 10;13(8):616-28.
2. Harvey JH, Smith WP. Social psychology: An attributional approach. CV Mosby; 1977.
3. Bakhshi Jahromi A, Zamani GH. Comparison of High and Low Performance Wheat Growers with Respect to Their Locus of Control. Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology. 2007 Jul 10;9(3):179-90.
4. Cortés Suárez G. Causal attributions for success or failure by passing and failing students in college algebra.
5. Henry JW, Martinko MJ, Pierce MA. Attributional style as a predictor of success in a first computer science course. Computers in human behavior. 1993 Dec 1;9(4):341-52.
6. Houston DM. Gloomy but smarter: The academic consequences of attributional style. British journal of social psychology. 1994 Dec;33(4):433-41.
7. Davies JB. Myth of addiction. Routledge; 2013 Dec 2.
8. Iman B. Experimental study of the effect of attribution style on learned helplessness. psychological research. 1373;4(3-4).
9. Kadivar P. The role of self-efficacy beliefs, self-regulation and intelligence in school performance among secondary school first grade students.
10. Wilson TD, Linville PW. Improving the academic performance of college freshmen: attribution therapy revisited. Journal of personality and social psychology. 1982 Feb;42(2):367.
11. Peterson C, Semmel A, Von Baeyer C, Abramson LY, Metalsky GI, Seligman ME. The attributional style questionnaire. Cognitive therapy and research. 1982 Sep 1;6(3):287-99.
12. Peterson C, Park C. Learned helplessness and explanatory style. InAdvanced personality 1998 (pp. 287-310). Springer, Boston, MA.
13. Gibb BE, Zhu L, Alloy LB, Abramson LY. Attributional styles and academic achievement in university students: A longitudinal investigation. Cognitive therapy and research. 2002 Jun;26(3):309-15.
14. Gordeeva TO, Osin EN. Optimistic attributional style as a predictor of well-being and performance in different academic settings. InThe human pursuit of well-being 2011 (pp. 159-174). Springer, Dordrecht.
15. Rezaei-Moghaddam K, Rostami S. Attribution style, locus of control and academic achievement in College of Agriculture, Shiraz University. Iranian Agricultural Extension and Education Journal. 2011;6(2):115-30.
16. Sogh MT, Karimi A, Haghighi H, Aryamanesh S, Danshjoo MJ, Ghaderi F. Examining the relationship between attribution style and personality characteristics and academic performance of Bandar Abbas high school students. J Life Sci Biomed. 2013;3(3):203-8.
17. SOLEYMANNEZHAD A, Shahrarai M. THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN LOCUS OF CONTROL AND SELF REGULATED LEARNING WITH ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.
18. Weiner B. Attribution theory, achievement motivation, and the educational process. Review of educational research. 1972 Jun;42(2):203-15.
19. SHEHNI YM, JALILZADEH N, MAKTABI G. The relationships between attributional style, depression and school performance in fifth-grade female primary school students in Ahwaz.
20. Gordeeva T, Sheldon K, Sychev O. Linking academic performance to optimistic attributional style: Attributions following positive events matter most. European Journal of Psychology of Education. 2020 Mar;35(1):21-48.
21. Bernieri F, Fultz AA, Brown JA. Attributional style and self-reported high school and college grade point average.
Journal of Health Sciences & Surveillance System
Volume 10, Issue 2
April 2022
Pages 229-232

Home

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Guide for Reviewers

Contact Us

Forms