Predictors of academic self-efficacy in medical intern students: the roles of mindful eating, physical activity, sleep quality, and mental workload

Abstract

Academic self-efficacy, defined as an individual’s belief in their capacity to complete academic tasks, may play a role in the learning and performance of medical students. Lifestyle factors such as sleep quality, physical activity, and mindfulness-based behaviors have been associated with cognitive performance and psychological well-being and can influence academic self-efficacy. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the associations between these factors and academic self-efficacy among medical interns. This cross-sectional study included 165 medical interns (53.3% male, mean age 25.83 ± 1.65 years) from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences who completed validated questionnaires assessing mindful eating, mental workload, academic self-efficacy, sleep quality, and physical activity. Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors. The mean academic self-efficacy score was 3.32 ± 0.52 out of 5 points. Significant predictors of overall academic self-efficacy included the following: mindful eating subscales (awareness: β = 0.16, p = 0.046; disinhibition: β = 0.195, p = 0.018; external cues: β = 0.275, p = 0.003), physical activity (β = 0.13, p = 0.039), sleep quality (sleep latency: β = -0.27, p = 0.002; sleep efficiency: β = -0.195, p = 0.026; subjective sleep quality: β = -0.22, p = 0.005), and mental workload (physical demand: β = -0.185, p = 0.027; temporal demand: β = -0.195, p = 0.025). The full model explained 41.5% of the variance in academic self-efficacy. Similar patterns were observed across all four subscales. Higher academic self-efficacy in medical interns was significantly associated with more mindful eating, higher physical activity, better sleep quality, and lower mental workload. These findings suggest that future research should evaluate multidimensional interventions targeting these modifiable factors to increase medical students’ academic self-efficacy.