Prediction of Academic Performance Based on Dimensions of Academic Identity and Flourishing among Students of the University of Medical Sciences

The issue of success in education is one of the most important concerns of any educational system (1). Improvement of academic performance in any society is indicative of the success of its educational system in the field of achieving goals and meeting individual needs (2). Academic performance is defined as all activities performed by a person to pass various degrees (3). In fact, academic performance affects important aspects of one’s life, such as getting a better job and a better social status and being more satisfied (4). One of the individual factors with social cognitive nature affecting educational status is the evolutionary process of academic identity and factors affecting this issue (5). One of the personal dimensions, the identity variable plays an important role in the educational performance area (5). In this regard, one of the important dimensions of identity is the formation of academic identity, which refers to one’s belief in how to study and use effective strategies to succeed in this path (6). Was and Isaacson proposed four academic identity statuses. These scholars believe that diffuse academic identity is often accompanied by a delay in decisions that are related to academic values (7). In the foreclose academic identity status, the student derives his goals and values from important people in his life without research. Meanwhile, in the moratorium academic identity status, students struggle to organize information and draw conclusions. The achieved status is the last academic identity that refers to a commitment to a set of academic values formed after a period of exploration (7). According to Berzonsky and Kuk, students with an achieved academic identity status have higher levels of academic autonomy and clear academic goals. On the other hand, while students with the foreclose academic identity status have clear academic goals and a higher level of commitment, compared to the achieved status, they have lower academic and emotional autonomy (8). In a research by Hosseinnejad, students with achieved and moratorium identity states had higher academic achievement, compared to diffuse and foreclose identity states (9). Students with any identity status deal with various obstacles during their education, including high stress level, poor scores, and decreased motivation. These individuals need academic adjustment to increase the ability to cope with academic problems. In this context, one of the abilities considered in the academic adjustment of students is academic vitality (10), which refers to a positive and adaptive response to a variety of challenges in the field of Background & Objective: Evaluation of academic performance and recognition of effective factors in this regard can considerably help the improvement of the academic and educational states of students. This study aimed to evaluate the role of academic identity, academic vitality, and flourishing in the prediction of academic performance of students at the University of Medical Sciences.