The effectiveness of positive psychotherapy on resilience and academic achievement of medical students

Academic progress is one of the important factors in the educational success of students. The motivation of academic progress plays an essential role in achieving the academic goals and successful education of students. Academic achievement motivation refers to a person's desire to improve his or her performance and that of others. This motivation influences students and drives them to learn, strive, and progress.Motivation for academic progress is one of the key factors in the learning process in any educational environment. This motivation increases the energy level and activity of people and leads them towards certain goals. Therefore, not having the motivation to progress can be a factor in reducing the education and failure of students. Research shows that there is a positive relationship between motivation and academic achievement, and this relationship is reported by more than 59%. In addition, the motivation for academic progress can be an important factor in dropping out of school and lack of interest in boys and the reason for marriage in girls.Many students feel hopeless due to having a negative and pessimistic attitude towards their future and not having control over their environment and behaviors. These problems and negative attitudes can lead to a decrease in motivation for academic progress. Improving resilience can have an impact on the adaptability of their lives. Teaching positive psychology can help students to face negative experiences and turn them into positive experiences. Also, this type of training can help students to acquire the ability to repair psychological traumas and overcome difficulties.Therefore, the current research is looking for this issue: What is the effect of positive psychology training in a group on the academic achievement and resilience of medical students?

This research was conducted using a quasi-experimental method and a pre-test and post-test design with a control group and an experimental group. The statistical population of this research was students of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran in 2018. 30 students were selected in two experimental and control groups. The intervention was held in eight weekly sessions, and Connor and Davidson's resilience tools and students' GPA were used to measure academic progress. The content of the intervention included various sessions to promote resilience, including the introduction of capabilities, forgiveness, sense of taste and constructive response.

The results of this study showed that the students of the experimental group who received positive psychotherapy training had higher resilience and academic achievement scores in the post-test phase. Statistical analysis showed that the distribution of grades in the two variables of resilience and academic progress is normal, and the variances and homogeneity of the slope of the regression line are not significant. As a result, positive psychotherapy intervention has a significant effect on increasing resilience scores and academic achievement, and compared to the control group, there is a significant difference between the two groups in these scores, and positive psychotherapy training led to an increase in academic achievement in students. Teaching positive psychological techniques and skills promotes positive communication with oneself, others and the world and increases students' motivation. Also, paying attention to the positive points and good experiences of the past can lead to more positive perceptions of oneself and others and lead people to accept more responsibility for their own worth and recovery. The positivist approach has the main goal of helping people in increasing their academic motivation and increasing their capabilities, positive emotions, commitment, and meaning, which makes their lives fresher and richer. Also, this approach helps to directly increase positive emotions and abilities and helps to personal growth and perfection and mental health of the person. The results show that positive psychotherapy training also increases students' resilience and positive psychology strategies can be effective in improving the level of mental health and well-being. These interventions can be provided in the form of accessible training for people to benefit in improving the quality of life and increasing mental health.

According to the results of this study, teaching positive psychotherapy to medical students leads to improving their academic progress and resilience. Teaching positive psychology techniques and skills can improve positive communication with oneself and others and strengthen students' motivation and confidence. Paying attention to past good experiences and individual strengths can help intensify positive perceptions and facilitate acceptance of responsibilities and improve autonomy. A positive approach helps to increase academic motivation and improve positive emotions, commitment and meaning in life. Also, positive psychotherapy training can improve students' resilience and help improve mental health and personal growth. However, the limitations of this study include a small sample of students and the use of self-report questionnaires, which may have biased the responses. It is suggested that more comprehensive research on positive psychology be done at the country level.