Age, gender, and approaches to studying predict academic performance among Norwegian occupational therapy students

Abstract

Background: Students' academic outcomes may be a result of several factors including the students' personal characteristics, their study behaviors, and characteristics of the learning environment. This study examined the associations between age, gender, approaches to studying, and academic performance in Norwegian occupational therapy students. Methods: Occupational therapy students (n = 160) completed the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST). Age, gender, and ASSIST subscale scores we~e used in a hierarchical linear regression analysis to predict the studer:i:ts' average academic performance. Results: Higher age and female gender were associated with higher academic performance among the students. In addition, three ASSIST subscales were associated with higher performance: higher scores on achieving and lack of purpose, and lower scores on fear of failure. The full model accounted for 27.3 percent of the outcome variance. Conclusions: To improve academic performance among occupational therapy students, it appears important to increase their motivation for achievement, and to reduce their fear of failure.