Impact of Workload and Conflict Management on Academic Performance and Psychological Wellbeing Among Medical Students

Abstract

Background: Medical students face substantial academic and interpersonal demands that predispose them to elevated psychological distress, yet the combined influence of academic workload and conflict management styles on mental health and academic outcomes remains insufficiently understood. Objective: To examine the associations between academic workload and conflict management styles with psychological well-being and academic performance among undergraduate medical students in Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among 51 medical students using validated instruments including the Student Academic Workload Scale, Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory–II, the General Health Questionnaire–12, and a self-reported academic performance index. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and multiple linear regressions were performed using SPSS version 26. Results: Academic workload (r = 0.502, p < 0.01) and conflict management style (r = 0.561, p < 0.01) were significantly associated with poorer psychological well-being. Regression analysis showed that conflict management significantly predicted psychological distress (β = 0.407, p = 0.006), while workload demonstrated a borderline effect (β = 0.269, p = 0.052), together explaining 36.3% of variance. Neither workload nor conflict management predicted academic performance (R² = 0.021, p = 0.605). Conclusion: Academic workload and conflict management styles significantly influence psychological well-being but do not affect academic performance, underscoring the need for stress mitigation and interpersonal skills training in medical education.