Happiness, Spiritual Health and Academic Self-Efficacy among Students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences

Background: Academic self-efficacy is an important prerequisite for academic achievement of students. This study aimed to determine the association between happiness and spiritual health with academic self-efficacy among students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences (GUMS), Iran. Methods: Using quota sampling method, 250 students studying at different filed of medical sciences at GUMS were selected. The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, Ellison and Paloutzin spiritual well-being scale, and Owen & Froman’s Academic Self-Efficacy Questionnaires were used to measure happiness, spiritual health, and self-efficacy, respectively. Data were analyzed using t-test, analysis of variance, and multivariate linear regression model in Stata version 14. Results: The mean score of happiness, spiritual health, and self-efficacy was 68.7 (SD = 13.2), 84.7 (SD = 17.3), and 96.7 (SD = 15.9), respectively. there was moderate significant correlation between happiness with spiritual health (r = 0.59, P-value = 0.001) and self-efficacy (r = 0.58, P-value = 0.001). Spiritual health and self-efficacy had a weak correlation (r = 0.28, P-value = 0.001). Linear regression analysis showed that happiness was independently associated with self-efficacy. The mean score of self-efficacy increased by 0.75 per unit of increase in the happiness score (P-value = 0.001). Conclusion: This study revealed a moderate level of happiness and self-efficacy among students of Guilan University of Medical sciences. Happiness was the only significant predictor of self-efficacy.