Open AccessLevel of Self Esteem Among Medical Students in International Islamic University Malaysia Kuantan (IIUM) and Its Association With Religiosity
Author(s) -
Azwanis Abdul Hadi,
Amirah Amiruddin,
Nurul Fitri Mustapa,
Muhammadi ‘Adil Zainal Abidin
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
ulum islamiyyah
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2289-4799
pISSN - 1675-5936
DOI - 10.33102/uij.vol33no2.309
Subject(s) - religiosity , psychology , self esteem , islam , scale (ratio) , test (biology) , descriptive statistics , logistic regression , association (psychology) , clinical psychology , prayer , social psychology , medicine , statistics , theology , mathematics , philosophy , paleontology , physics , quantum mechanics , psychotherapist , biology
Medicine is one of the most difficult academic course that faces many psychological challenges. A high level of self-esteem is needed to cope with such challenges, and religiosity is seen as one of the approaches to increase one’s self esteem especially among Muslim medical students. This study aims to measure the level of self esteem among medical students and its association with religiosity. This online cross-sectional study was conducted among 178 International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Kuantan medical students using validated 10-items IIUM Religiosity Scale (IIUMReIS), and 10-items Rosenberg Self esteem Scale (RSES). Descriptive statistics was used to measure the level of self esteem while chi-square, Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman’s correlation, univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to explore the association between self esteem with the predictors. More than half of the students (58.5%) have a high level of self esteem. They scored an average of 35 (IQR = 6) in terms of religiosity. Those with higher religiosity were predicted to have significantly high self esteem (r = 0.345). Other significant factor includes, frequency of voluntary prayer where daily practice has 0.3 lower odds of having low self esteem. (95% CI = 0.11, 0.85, p = 0.05) Majority of the students have a high level of self esteem. Implications suggest the role of religiosity and the impact of voluntary prayer. Early and consistent strengthening of self esteem via motivational, spiritual and religious programs may be advisable.