How Childhood Conscientiousness Influences Academic Motivation among University Students: A Mediator Effect of Current Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness, as characterized by self-regulation, industriousness, responsibility, and impulsive control, is consistently regarded as one of the strongest predictors of academic success. However, most research investigates the association at a single point, leaving the uncertainty of whether early expressions of conscientiousness continue to influence motivation and learning behaviors in young adulthood. The present study adopts a developmental perspective to investigate how childhood conscientiousness predicts academic motivation among university students and whether this relationship is mediated by current conscientiousness. Students and one of their parents will participate in the study. Parents will retrospectively assess their child’s conscientiousness during Grade 6 (age 11-12) using the Big Five Questionnaire for Children (BFQ-C). At the same time, students will complete the BFI-2-S for current conscientiousness, the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS), and brief behavioral measurements of study habits. Correlational and partial correlation analyses will be used to test whether current conscientiousness mediates the relationship between early personality and academic motivation. The predicted results indicate that childhood conscientiousness will predict both current conscientiousness and higher intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, lower amotivation, and that this association will weaken after controlling for current conscientiousness. The study helps to understand how ideas and behaviors with the characteristics of conscientiousness affect the motivational results of higher education, and provides insights into promoting long-term academic participation and success.