Assessment of Life Skills Status among Students in Maragheh and Tabriz Universities of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Students as highly sensitive groups in society are exposed to psycho-social harm due to different reasons, such as lack of necessary ability to confront life problems. The present study aimed to assess students’ life skills status in Maragheh and Tabriz Universities of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this cross-sectional study (from 2021-2022), 800 students from Tabriz and Maragheh Universities of Medical Sciences (400 from each university) voluntarily participated. The status of life skills (including self-awareness, empathy, effective communication and interpersonal relationships, emotion management and coping with stress, problem solving and decision-making, critical thinking, and creative thinking) was assessed by a 162-item questionnaire scored based a Likert scale from 1-6 (the most preferred option, score 6 and the most unfavorable option, score 1). The content validity of the questionnaire was 0.79 and its reliability was very good (Cronbach's alpha 0.88). Data were analyzed using t-test, chi-square, linear regression, and analysis of variance in SPSS software (version 27). Results: The level of self-awareness skill, emotion management and coping with stress skills were lower than other skills among students. Age demonstrated a significant relationship with emotion management, coping with stress, and creative thinking. The skills of self-awareness, empathy, effective communication, interpersonal relationships, emotion management, dealing with stress, problem solving, and decision-making were higher among female students. In all life skills, the level of PhD and associate degree students was higher than others; nonetheless, there was no significant relationship between any of the educational levels and the level of skills. Conclusion: based on findings, greater attention to improving students' awareness of life skills is necessary. This study can help university administrators to identify the students with low levels of life skills in order to design and implement appropriate strategic programs, such as developing and presenting related course units, holding educational workshops, lectures, and conferences to increase the level of life skills of students of Maragheh and Tabriz Universities of Medical Sciences.