Motivational and volitional predictors of academic performance among university students

Context and relevance. The psychological literature provides significant links between motivational, volitional (meta-motivational) processes and academic performance of students, however, most research in this area has focused on schoolchildren, while university students are studied much less frequently. University students have been studied less frequently, yet it is important to understand which psychological variables predict high academic achievement, as the quality of a student's professional skills and, consequently, the quality of the graduate specialist depend on their success in completing a training program. Objective. The aim is to investigate motivational and volitional predictors of academic performance among university students. Hypothesis. Academic performance is directly related to intrinsic academic motivation and volitional regulation; volitional qualities and achievement motivation directly predict academic performance; volitional regulation is a mediator between academic motivation and academic performance. Methods and materials. The study involved 641 participants: 75 men and 566 women (M = 27,9, SD = 9,4) – students of the Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis. Psychodiagnostics tools: "A short scale of academic motivation", "Action control scale" by J. Kuhl, "Questionnaire for identifying the severity of self-control in the emotional sphere, activity and behavior". Results. Results showed positive correlations between motivation, volitional regulation, and academic performance. Regression analysis revealed that achievement motivation, external and cognitive motivation are predictors of academic performance. Mediation analysis showed that motivation directly affected academic performance, but also indirectly through its effect on volitional regulation. Conclusions. The influence of volitional regulation on academic performance is mediated by academic motivation. However, this effect depends on the type of motivation. It is most pronounced for cognitive and achievement motivation, while for external motivation, it is only manifested in the indicator of control over action.