Discrimination of Students of Medical Sciences with High and Low Academic Achievement Based on the Components of Academic Procras-tination and Stressors

Academic achievement is the result of a number of socio-occupational variables. Procrastination and stress are important predictors of such variables. The purpose of this study is to distinguish students with high and low academic achievement based on procrastination factors and psychosocial stressors.

The research method is correlational. Given that the differences among the groups were examined in terms of the number of variables, the study is causal-comparative. Discriminant analysis, which is an individual-based analytical process, was used for analysis. The study population was all students of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences during the academic year of 2018-2019. Clutser sampling based on sex and major was used to select the statistical sample. The estimated sample size was 367 students. Data was collected through Perception of Stressful Life Events and Procrastination scales.

The results of the analysis led to one discriminant function that significantly differentiated students from lower and higher academic achievement. Stress components did not play a significant role in this differentiation, but the students with low academic achievement had higher mean scores than students with high academic achievement in the procrastination components. The greatest difference in the two groups' mean scores was due to fatigue and then in intentional procrastination and procrastination due to lack of planning.

Students are advised to learn the meaning of procrastination, its symptoms and its consequences while they learn to to practice self-control and time management through regular training in order to reduce educational harm.