Religious commitment and its relationship to negative academic behavior among university students

Abstract

This research aimed to identify the religious commitment of university students, religious commitment according to gender, negative academic behavior among university students, negative academic behavior according to gender, and the nature of the relationship between religious commitment and negative academic behavior. The research was limited to students at Al-Mustansiriya University, College of Basic Education, during the 2023-2024 academic year, morning program, totaling 7,806 students (3,867 males and 3,939 females). The sample size was 300 students, randomly selected from the population. To achieve the research objectives, it was necessary to use an instrument to measure both religious commitment and negative academic behavior. Accordingly, a scale for religious commitment and a scale for negative academic behavior were developed. After processing the data using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), the researcher reached the following conclusions: The research sample members are religiously committed, there are no statistically significant differences between males and females in religious commitment, the sample exhibits low levels of negative academic behavior, and there are statistically significant differences between males and females in negative social behavior, favoring males and females. The research concluded with a set of recommendations and suggestions for males, and that there is a positive (inverse) relationship between religious commitment and negative academic behavior.