The influence of motivation and adaptation on students’ subjective well-being, meaning in life and academic performance

ABSTRACT

High rates of mental illness among students and discontinuation with university studies are regularly reported. The current study sought to explore relationships between motivation, university adaptation and indicators of mental health and well-being and academic performance of 184 first-year university students (73% female, mean age = 19.3 years). As expected, intrinsic motivation was associated with greater subjective well-being, meaning in life and academic performance. Extrinsic motivations showed few relationships to outcome variables, while amotivation was consistently associated with poor outcomes. Hierarchical regression revealed that after accounting for adjustment, motivational orientations provided a small, though significant, contribution to the prediction of outcomes. These results are discussed in relation to Self-Determination Theory, the eudaimonic/hedonic dichotomy and implications for career counselling and teaching.

KEYWORDS:

• adaptation to tertiary study
• motivation
• student retention
• student well-being

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the involvement of all participants.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.