Abstract

COMPARISON OF THE PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS LEVELS OF HEALTH DEPARTMENT STUDENTS EDUCED AT UNDERGRADUATE AND ASSOCIATE DEGREE LEVEL

Our study was conducted with the aim of comparing the parameters such as personal control, self-care level, academic achievement and family characteristics that affect the problem solving skill levels of undergraduate and associate degree students studying in health departments. Our research is cross-sectional; those who study at the same university in one year; It was carried out on 200 students, 100 of whom are at undergraduate level and 100 of whom are at associate degree level. In order to obtain the demographic information of the students; The personal data collection form created by the researchers was used and the "Problem Solving Inventory (PSI)" was used to determine problem solving skill levels.Data collection forms and questionnaires were applied with one-on-one interview technique. The voluntariness of the participants was taken as a basis in filling out the questionnaires. After the descriptive statistics (frequency, mean, standard deviation) of the socio-demographic data obtained and the scale scores and sub-dimension scores were made, two independent groups were compared by looking at their normal distribution conformity. The mean age of associate degree students participating in our study was 20.6 ± 1.26, and 20.8 ± 3.07 for undergraduate students. In comparisons made with PSI, which consists of three different sub-parameters, associate degree students are significantly more successful than undergraduate students in terms of "approach-avoidance", "personal control" and "problem solving questionnaire total score" (p>0.05). No difference was found in terms of "confidence in problem solving ability" sub-dimension. In the comparison of the Problem Solving Questionnaire by gender; no significant difference was found in sub-dimensions and total score(p>0.05). As a result; In all comparisons, problem solving abilities do not differ according to gender. The problem solving skill level was found to be moderate for both genders. As the education level increases; The psychological state, which has an effect on the quality of life, increases in the negative direction. In terms of problem solving abilities, a negative correlation was found with education level in all sub-categories.

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