Developing and Testing an Intervention to Promote Future Self-Connectedness Among Premedical Students

abstract: This study was designed to develop and test an intervention to increase future self-connectedness among students considered on the pre-medical career path at Arizona State University. Recent research has identified organic chemistry as one primary reason pre-med students change their major during undergraduate studies. Difficulty connecting to one’s future self and low academic self-efficacy are also reasons that help explain the large numbers of students changing majors. This study proposed and tested an intervention to increase future self-connectedness in order to help keep students in the pre-med pathway. It was predicted that the proposed intervention would be successful at promoting greater future self-connectedness and academic self-efficacy across all students, with significant results hypothesized for women and members of minority groups. It was further hypothesized that this intervention would be successful at decreasing stress levels and increasing persistence when given sample MCAT questions. 78 undergraduate participants from organic chemistry classes completed this study, 37 in the intervention and 41 comprising the control group. The intervention consisted of a guided thought exercise that walked participants through a day in the life of a medical resident. Results were found indicating a significance between the mean scores for the intervention group and increased future self-connectedness, as well as academic self-efficacy as compared to the control. Results also indicate that lower levels of initial future self-connectedness and academic self-efficacy were associated with higher levels of change in levels of future self-connectedness following the intervention. Additionally, high initial academic self-efficacy was correlated with lower levels of perceived stress and higher overall grade point average, as hypothesized. Results indicate that the intervention was successful at increasing future self-connectedness and academic self-efficacy among pre-med students, especially among women and minority groups, however the intervention was not successful at decreasing levels of perceived stress within the intervention group. Given the small sample size future studies are needed to further verify the generalizability of these results