IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences (IOSR-JDMS) e-ISSN: 2279-0853, p-ISSN: 2279-0861.Volume 17, Issue 5 Ver. 11 (May. 2018), PP 50-53 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/0853-1705115053 www.iosrjournals.org 50 | Page Effect of Socio-demographic Profile on the Academic Performance of First Year Medical Students in Anatomy *Archana Rani 1 , Anita Rani 1 , AK Pankaj 1 , RK Verma 1 , RK Diwan 1 1 Department of Anatomy, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow-226003, Uttar Pradesh, India Corresponding author: *Archana Rani Abstract: The aim of this study was to find the effect of socio-demographic profile on the academic performance of first year medical students in anatomy. Poor academic achievement could be the result of interplay between student’s factors and their environmental milieu. 361 first year MBBS students of 2009 (175) and 2010 (186) batches were included in the study. A proforma consisting of information about age, sex, place of residence (strata), medium of instruction during schooling and the board of 12 th standard was filled by the students. Performance of these students in the terminal examination was recorded and correlated statistically with their socio-demographic profile. Best performance was reported in the age group of 17-20 years. Females performed better in both theory and practical exams as compared to males. Students from urban background performed better than of rural areas. Students with English medium background performed better than that of Hindi medium. Students of ISC board performed best in terminal exams as compared to those of CBSE followed by UP and other provincial examination boards. Keywords: Students, Academic, Examination, Performance, Socio-demographic profile. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 07-05-2018 Date of acceptance: 22-05-2018 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction Medical education is considered to be costly education imparted by any government. The factors responsible for students’ performance need to be understood otherwise it could result into wastage of resources. If the factors influencing the performance adversely could be identified then this baseline data could be of immense help for the policy makers in modifying or improving the existing system. Poor academic achievement could be the result of interplay between student’s factors and their environmental milieu. Capacity to respond to and benefit from education depends upon the level of student’s intellect, language and emotional maturity [1]. Student characteristics, their lifestyle, learning environments, and instruction activities contribute to their achievement [2]. Credé and Kuncel (2008) also found that study skills, study habits, study attitudes, and motivation for study exhibit relationships with academic performance [3]. Ferguson et al (2002) stressed the importance of how students learn, and this concept seems to be a useful strategy for students who wish to succeed [4]. Rhoads et al (1974) and Rippey et al (1981) reported that motivation appears to be an influencing factor in performance [5,6]. Another simple indicator of study habits must surely be based on the estimates of the number of hours worked by a student in a typical week. It was reported that there is a fairly clear relationship between examination results and the amount of work done by students [7]. II. Material And Methods 361 first year MBBS students of 2009 (175) and 2010 (186) batches were included in the study. The study was approved by the institutional ethical review committee. After explaining the purpose of study to the students, consent was taken before distribution of questionnaire. A proforma consisting of information about age, sex, place of residence (strata), medium of instruction during schooling and the board of 12 th standard was filled by the students. Performance of these students in the terminal examination was recorded and correlated statistically with their socio-demographic profile. The students were divided into 3 groups according to age i.e. 17-20 years (n=162), 21-24 years (n=162) and ≥25 years (n=37). Out of 361 students, number of females were 92 while males were 269. Number of students belonging to rural background were 142 while that of urban area 219. According to medium of instruction in 12 th standard, students were divided into two groups i.e. English medium (n=149) and Hindi medium (n=212). Considering the examination board in 12 th standard, maximum number of students were of UP board (n=212), followed by CBSE (n=103), ISC (n=36) and others (n=10).