Relationship Between the Use of Coping Strategies and Academic Procrastination in Undergraduate Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

To identify the level of procrastination in undergraduate medical students and to explore the coping strategies adopted by low procrastinators to overcome the tendency. The mixed method, sequential explanatory study was conducted at the Islamic International Medical College, Riphah International University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from April to September 2019, and comprised medical students from preclinical first, second and third years of the academic programme. The pre-validated Academic Procrastination Scale was used to assess the prevalence and level of procrastination in the subjects, followed by semi-structured interviews with students having low level of procrastination to explore the coping strategies used by them to beat the negative habit. Data was analysed using SPSS 21 and was further subjected to manual thematic analysis. Of the 255 subjects, 85(33.3%) each were in the first, second and third year of undergraduate medical studies. Overall, the level of procrastination was high in 134(52.5%) students and low in 121(47.5%). The low procrastinators were 43(51%) in the 1st year, 46(54%) in the 2nd year and 45(53%) in the 3rd year. On the basis of interview-based data, 10 coping strategies were identified: time management, self-regulation, establishment of priorities, self-reward, goal-setting, conducive learning environment, self-reminders, task management, self-evaluation and self- monitoring. Procrastination is a behavioural disorder and is prevalent in undergraduate medical students, but it can be effectively treated through effective coping strategies.

Introduction : Sources of stress and coping strategies have not been previously studied at Xavier University School of Medicine, Aruba. Objective: Hence the present study was carried out to obtain information about sources of stress and coping strategies among different groups of students and note differences, if any, among subgroups of respondents. Method : Sources of student stress and coping strategies were studied using the medical student stressor questionnaire (MSSQ) and the brief COPE. The present study was carried out among premedical and basic science undergraduate medical students during June 2014. Demographic characteristics like gender, semester of study, age and nationality were noted. Mean scores of different groups of stressors and coping strategies were calculated and compared among various subgroups of respondents using appropriate statistical tests (p<0.05). Result : Ninety-two of the 108 students (85.2%) participated. Cronbach’s alpha values for various categories of stressor scores were high. The major categories of stressors were academic related and group activity related. Certain stress scores were higher among female respondents and undergraduate medical (MD) students especially those studying in the fourth and fifth semester. The main coping strategies employed were planning, active coping, positive reframing, and acceptance. There were differences in use of certain coping strategies among subgroups of respondents. Conclusion : Academic related stressors were high especially among fourth and fifth semester students. Longitudinal studies following students over their basic science years are required. Studies among students doing their clinical rotations in the United States are required. Studies among students in other Caribbean medical schools are needed.

The value of psychological principles has become apparent in medical settings, especially with the rise of patient-centered care. We aimed to provide a curriculum informing medical providers about the theoretical basis and clinical utility of the social-cognitive model of stress and coping. This workshop was delivered to an interprofessional team of faculty and trainees. Our initial pedagogical approach was to relate the concepts of cognitive appraisals and coping strategies to participants' own stress responses. We then used didactic presentation and small-group activities to explore ways to promote adaptive coping with patients to improve health outcomes. Learners participated in a mindfulness exercise, conceptualized coping strategies given a hypothetical case scenario, and, in small groups, role-played a patient encounter to construct an effective coping repertoire for the patient. Participants completed a prework self-assessment and workshop evaluation form. The 2.5-hour workshop had 48 participants from five professions (medicine, education, physician assistant, pharmacology, psychology). We received 35 evaluations (73% response rate). Learners reported increased real-world skills (M = 8.0 out of 10) and feeling better prepared for working in interprofessional settings (M = 7.6 out of 10). Qualitative feedback suggested that participants recognized the importance of individual differences in coping with stress and felt they could categorize strategies into emotion- or problem-focused coping. This workshop provided participants with basic knowledge about the social-cognitive model of stress and coping and allowed them to practice newly learned skills in a role-play as an interprofessional medical care team.

Objectives:To assess the emotional responses and coping strategies of medical students during the lockdown and social distancing measures implemented during the coronavirus disease -19 (COVID-19) pandemic.Methods:This cross‑sectional study is based on data collected from undergraduate medical students at the College of Medicine, Alfaisal University Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the fall semester of academic year 2020-2021. All the participants completed a self-administered online questionnaire consisting of 3 parts: demographic information, emotional response scale, and 14-item, adapted brief coping orientation to problems experienced inventory to determine the use of avoidant or approach coping strategies. Coping and emotional response scores were compared using t-test. Linear regression analysis was also performed.Results:A total of 261 students from all years were included. Overall scores were higher for avoidant coping strategies. The use of avoidant coping strategies was significantly higher in females (p=0.03) and in preclinical students (p<0.001). Preclinical students had a higher mean score for anger (p=0.002). Conversely, students in the clinical phase had higher scores for anxiety (p=0.005) and sadness (p=0.027). The regression analysis of emotional responses and coping strategies suggests that avoidant coping is a predictor of anger (p=0.003) and sadness (p=0.005).Conclusion:Interventions to train medical students in the use of more productive and effective coping strategies may reduce negative emotional responses linked to the present COVID-19 pandemic and in the future.

Objective To understand the current situation of mobile phone dependence and procrastination among medical students, and to explore the correlation between them. Methods We selected 220 university students in a medical school as research objects by the random stratified sampling. All of the students were investigated with the Dependency Scale with Telephone for Undergraduate Student and the General Procrastination Scale (GPS) . A total of 220 questionnaires were sent out and 209 valid questionnaires were collected. Results Among 209 medical students, 74.6% of them had mobile phone dependence; the total score from the Dependency Scale with Telephone was (66.67±12.39) ; there were statistical differences in the total scores of the Dependency Scale with Telephone among students whether they were in love and whether they thought mobile phones were essential (P<0.05) . Among 209 medical students, there were 92.3% of medical students with procrastination; the total score of GPS was (54.21±10.75) ; there were statistical differences in the total scores of GPS among medical students in different grades (P<0.05) . The scores of the Dependency Scale with Telephone were positively correlated with the scores of GPS among medical students (r=0.240, P<0.01) . Conclusions The mobile phone dependence and procrastination are common in medical students. Students who are in higher levels of mobile phone dependence are more likely to have procrastination. Guiding medical students to reasonably used mobile phone is recommended to reduce the incidence of procrastination. Key words: Students; Medical students; Mobile phone dependence; Procrastination; Correlation

AimsThe pursuit of a career in medicine, while potentially rewarding, is undeniably accompanied by demanding challenges. These challenges encompass not only rigorous academic demands and long work hours but also contend with a competitive academic environment, conflicts in maintaining a study-life balance, and a multitude of other stressors unique to the medical profession. Amidst this backdrop, concerns are growing worldwide about the mental health challenges that medical students face as they start their careers in medicine. Coping can play a pivotal role in overcoming these challenges. This study explores how coping is associated with wellbeing aspects, i.e., anxiety and depression, as well as personality, and looks into the coping strategies adopted by medical students, specifically focusing on whether they predominantly employ problem-focused or emotion-focused coping. Additionally, it aims to explore contextual factors influencing students' coping strategies, which is crucial for informing wellbeing interventions and support services.MethodsThis study used a mixed-methods approach, employing quantitative data on coping, personality, stress, anxiety and depression and qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with preclinical and clinical year medical students at the University of Nottingham.ResultsRegression findings revealed that medical students primarily used emotion-focused over problem-focused coping. Interestingly, thematic analysis showed that medical students employ problem-focused coping strategies in rigorous, academically challenging and controllable situations such as upcoming exams; they prioritise structured study schedules, seek additional academic resources, and actively engage with faculty to enhance their understanding of complex topics; conversely, emotion-focused coping emerged prominently in the face of personal or interpersonal stressors, particularly in situations perceived as uncontrollable. In such instances, like unexpected setbacks or health concerns, students may acknowledge and express their emotions and engage in activities for emotional relief, including seeking wellbeing support.ConclusionThe study reveals a dynamic interplay between problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies in medical students. Recognising that medical students tend to adopt different coping strategies in different situations, medical education systems should aim to develop or tailor existing resources to provide appropriate academic and wellbeing support.

Introduction: Sources of stress and coping strategies have not been previously studied at Xavier University School of Medicine, Aruba. Objective: Hence the present study was carried out to obtain information about sources of stress and coping strategies among different groups of students and note differences, if any, among subgroups of respondents. Method: Sources of student stress and coping strategies were studied using the medical student stressor questionnaire (MSSQ) and the brief COPE. The present study was carried out among premedical and basic science undergraduate medical students during June 2014. Demographic characteristics like gender, semester of study, age and nationality were noted. Mean scores of different groups of stressors and coping strategies were calculated and compared among various subgroups of respondents using appropriate statistical tests (p<0.05). Result: Ninety-two of the 108 students (85.2%) participated. Cronbach's alpha values for various categories of stressor scores were high. The major categories of stressors were academic related and group activity related. Certain stress scores were higher among female respondents and undergraduate medical (MD) students especially those studying in the fourth and fifth semester. The main coping strategies employed were planning, active coping, positive reframing, and acceptance. There were differences in use of certain coping strategies among subgroups of respondents.Conclusion: Academic related stressors were high especially among fourth and fifth semester students. Longitudinal studies following students over their basic science years are required. Studies among students doing their clinical rotations in the United States are required. Studies among students in other Caribbean medical schools are needed.

Background: Learning achievement is primarily measured by GPA. A positive self-concept, nurtured by self-compassion, is essential for achieving academic excellence. Self-compassion helps students cope with stress and boost motivation. On the other hand, procrastination is a common obstacle to academic success. Ineffective time management and organizational skills are hallmarks of procrastination. Aims: To describe the levels of self-compassion and procrastination among medical students and to examine how these factors relate to academic performance. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design involving 266 active medical students at UGJ, selected through stratified random sampling. Data was collected using an online questionnaire, including the Self-Compassion Scale and the Academic Procrastination Scale. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted, with a Spearman correlation test used to assess the correlation between variables due to the non-normal distribution of self-compassion and academic achievement. Results: The majority of participants exhibited moderate levels of self-compassion (56%). Similarly, the majority (38.7%) demonstrated moderate levels of academic procrastination. In terms of learning achievement, the majority of participants achieved a GPA between 3.01 and 3.50 (32.3%). A significant positive correlation was found between self-compassion and learning achievement (p-value&lt;0.001, r=0.339). Conversely, a significant negative correlation was observed between academic procrastination and learning achievement (p-value&lt;0.001, r=-0.234). Conclusion: This research shows that higher self-compassion is associated with better learning outcomes whereas higher academic procrastination is associated with worse learning outcomes. Received: 25 September 2024 | Reviewed: 17 October 2024 | Revised: 17 November 2024 | Accepted: 30 November 2024.

92 Background: In a recent trial, early integrated palliative care (PC) improved quality of life (QOL) and reduced depressive symptoms in patients with newly-diagnosed incurable lung and gastrointestinal (GI) cancer. The mechanisms by which PC benefits these outcomes are unclear. We examined whether early integrated PC improved patients’ coping strategies and the degree to which changes in coping mediated intervention effects on QOL and depressive symptoms. Methods: From 5/2011 to 7/2015, we enrolled 350 patients with newly diagnosed incurable lung or non-colorectal GI cancer in a randomized trial of early PC integrated with oncology care vs. oncology care alone at Massachusetts General Hospital. Patients completed self-report measures of QOL (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General), depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), and use of active and avoidant coping strategies (Brief Cope) at baseline, 12, and 24 weeks. Linear regression was used to assess the effects of the early PC intervention on active and avoidant coping strategies. A multiple mediation regression was modeled to examine whether changes in use of coping strategies mediated intervention effects on QOL and depressive symptoms. Results: Compared to oncology care, early integrated PC improved patients’ use of active coping ( B= 1.09, SE= 0.44, p= .01, 95% CI: 0.23, 1.96) and slightly reduced use of avoidant coping strategies ( B= -0.44, SE= 0.23, p= .06, 95% CI:-0.90, 0.02). Improvements in 24-week QOL in patients assigned to PC were mediated by increased use of active coping strategies (indirect effect = 1.27, 95% CI: 0.31, 2.86), but not by decreased use of avoidant coping. Similarly, PC-related reductions in 24-week depressive symptoms were mediated by increased use of active coping strategies (indirect effect = -0.39, 95% CI:-0.89, -0.08) but not by decreased use of avoidant coping. Conclusions: Patients with newly diagnosed incurable cancer who received early integrated PC showed increased use of active coping strategies, which was associated with improved QOL and depressive symptoms. PC may improve QOL and mood by providing patients with the skills to cope effectively with life-threatening illness. Clinical trial information: NCT01401907.

Academic procrastination is a prevalent issue among students, including pre-clinical medical students. This study explored the level of students’ procrastination, the types of procrastinators they identified as, and the strategies they used to cope, all examined through the perspective of their personality traits. A total of 101 pre-clinical students took part in a cross-sectional survey, which utilized four instruments: Lay’s Procrastination Scale, the Procrastination Coping Strategies Inventory, the Procrastinator Type Questionnaire, and the Ten Item Personality Inventory. Results showed that over 80% of participants reported moderate to high levels of procrastination, with most identifying as perfectionists, crisis-makers, and dreamers. Cognitive strategies were the most commonly used method to manage procrastination, followed by behavioral and emotive strategies. Findings also indicated significant differences in procrastination levels based on the personality traits of agreeableness and openness to experience. Meanwhile, the types of procrastinators differed significantly according to emotional stability, with certain types more prevalent among students with lower levels of this trait. Students with higher openness to experience tended to use a combination of coping strategies, rather than relying on a single approach. These findings suggest that academic procrastination among medical students varies across personality traits in terms of its level, type, and coping strategies. Understanding these variations may help inform the development of more personalized and targeted academic support initiatives.

10023 Background: In a recent trial, early integrated palliative care (PC) improved quality of life (QOL) and reduced depression symptoms in patients with newly-diagnosed incurable lung and gastrointestinal (GI) cancer. The mechanisms by which PC benefits these outcomes are unclear. Therefore, we examined whether early integrated PC improved patients’ coping strategies and the degree to which changes in coping mediated intervention effects on patient-reported QOL and depression symptoms. Methods: From 5/2011 to 7/2015, we enrolled 350 patients with newly diagnosed incurable lung or non-colorectal GI cancer in a randomized trial of early PC integrated with oncology care vs. oncology care alone at Massachusetts General Hospital. Patients completed self-report measures of QOL (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General), depression symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), and use of active and avoidant coping strategies (Brief Cope) at baseline, 12, and 24 weeks. Linear regression was used to assess the effects of the early PC intervention on active and avoidant coping strategies. A multiple mediation regression with bias-corrected bootstrapping was modeled to examine whether changes in use of coping strategies mediated intervention effects on QOL and depression symptoms. Results: Compared to oncology care, early integrated PC improved patients’ use of active coping and reduced use of avoidant coping strategies. Improvements in 24-week QOL in patients assigned to PC were mediated by increased use of active coping strategies (indirect effect = 1.27, bootstrapped SE = 0.65, 95% CI [0.31, 2.86]), but not by decreased use of avoidant coping. Similarly, PC-related reductions in 24-week depression symptoms were mediated by increased use of active coping strategies (indirect effect = -0.39, bootstrapped SE = 0.20, 95% CI [-0.89, -0.08] but not by decreased use of avoidant coping. Conclusions: Patients with newly diagnosed incurable cancer who received early integrated PC showed increased use of active coping strategies, which led to improved QOL and depression symptoms. PC may improve QOL and mood by providing patients with the skills to cope effectively with life-threatening illness. Clinical trial information: NCT01401907.

Does Gender Affect Coping Strategies Leading to Well-being and Improved Academic Performance?

¿El género afecta en las estrategias de afrontamiento para mejorar el bienestar y el desempeño académico?

Various person and situation factors have been examined as they affect coping in parenting a child with a disability. However, little data exists on the extent to which cultural system influences coping of parents from diverse cultural backgrounds. Informed by Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) transactional model of stress and coping, and Triandis' (1995) concept of individualist/collectivist cultures, the current study examined the ways ofcoping of 62 mothers and fathers from two different cultural systems (Anglo-Australian [individualist] and Greek-Australian [collectivist]). The focus of research was to quantitatively identify the coping resources that were antecedents to the selection of coping strategies and to qualitatively examine the subjective experience of parents from two diverse cultural systems caring for a child with a disability. The relationship between coping resources (depression, self-esteem, social interest, marital relationship) and coping strategies (problem-focused, seeking social support, blame self, wishful thinking and avoidance) was examined using a battery of five questionnaires. The subjective experiences of the parents were elicited via semi-structured interviews. Analysis of the data revealed that depression was not associated with any of the coping strategies for either the mothers or the fathers in the sample. For mothers, associations were found between self-esteem and wishful thinking and avoidance, and between dyadic adjustment and blame self. Social interest was not associated with any of the coping strategies for mothers. Level of education made no difference in the use of coping strategies for mothers. For fathers, associations were noted between self-esteem and wishful thinking, between dyadic adjustment and problem-focused coping, seeking social support, wishful thinking and avoidance. Fathers with high education made more use of problem-focused coping and fathers with low education differed in the use of wishful thinking and avoidance from the high education fathers. Mothers and fathers differed in their use of seeking social support as a coping strategy, with mothers seeking more social support than fathers. Cultural differences were found between fathers in the use of problem-focused and wishful thinking and avoidance coping strategies. Anglo-Australians used more problem-focused coping than their Greek-Australian counterparts. Greek-Australian fathers used more wishful thinking and avoidance than the Anglo-Australian fathers. Anglo-and Greek-Australian mothers did not differ in their use of coping strategies. Qualitative findings indicated both etic and emic experiences. Similar sources of stress, appraisals, coping resources and coping strategies characterised both groups' experiences of caring for their child with a disability. For Greek-Australian mothers and fathers, references to family, responsibility and stigma identified their collectivist cultural background. For the Anglo-Australian mothers and fathers, references to work, social networks and marital relationship identified their individualist cultural background. Overall, the results of the present study supported the relevance of the use of coping resources (social interest, self-esteem, depression, dyadic adjustment) in the study of ways of coping with child disability; and, supported the presence of differences in coping, both between gender, and between membership in a culturally diverse system. It is suggested that future research continues to investigate these resources using populations from other cultural groups and longitudinal designs so that their role in influencing coping under lifelong and uncontrollable circumstances with non-normative populations might be better understood. It is further suggested that health professionals take into consideration cultural differences and factor them into the care of culturally diverse families with children with a disability.

ABSTRACTPhenomenon: Medical students' coping abilities are important for academic success and emotional health. The authors explored differences in students' use of active, problem-solving strategies and emotional, inwardly directed approaches; the change in coping strategies used during medical school; and coping strategy impact on performance. Approach: One hundred eighty-three students completed the Ways of Coping Scale at matriculation and end of the 2nd and 3rd years. Frequency of each of 8 ways of coping, changes in coping strategy use over time, and relationship of coping method with preclinical and clinical scores were calculated. Findings: Students varied widely in use of coping mechanisms. Over time, students shifted to using emotional strategies more frequently while decreasing their use of active strategies. Coping strategies were unrelated to preclinical academic performance (R2 = .09, adjusted R2 = .04, ns) but were related to clinical performance (R2 = .23, adjusted R2 = .18, p < .0001), with active coping associated with higher performance and emotional methods associated with lower performance. Insights: Students decreased use of active coping strategies and increased use of emotional coping strategies over time, but emotional strategies were associated with poorer clinical academic performance. These shifts in coping methods may be detrimental to student performance and learning. Improving students' ability to cope should be an educational priority.