ArticlePloS one2018
Motivation towards medical career choice and academic performance in Latin American medical students: A cross-sectional study.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.
- Psychosocial factors associated with academic performance in medical students: a systematic review.BMC medical education · 2026Pooled it
- A cross-sectional study exploring academic motivation among rehabilitation science students under different teaching approaches in China.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- A National Epidemiologic Mixed-methods Study on Depression, Anxiety, Substance Use, Treatment Needs and Barriers and Facilitators to Treatment Among Medical Students.Indian journal of psychological medicine · 2025Article
- Motivational Factors Influencing the Choice of Medical Studies and Future Career Plans among Montenegrin Students.Zdravstveno varstvo · 2024Article
- Psychometric Properties of a Short Academic Motivation Scale (SAMS) in Medical Students.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The Relationship Between Motivation and Academic Performance Among Medical Students in Riyadh.Cureus · 2023Article
- Predictors of College Academic Achievement for Medical Students: The Case of Gondar University, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ethiopia.Advances in medical education and practice · 2023Article
- The influence of achievement motivation on college students' employability: A chain mediation analysis of self-efficacy and academic performance.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Validation of academic motivation scale among medical students using factor analysis and structural equation modeling: Middle Eastern perspective.Journal of education and health promotion · 2021Article
- Seeking motivation for selecting Medical Profession as a Career Choice.Pakistan journal of medical sciencesArticle
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 7 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionMotivation in medical students is positively associated with learning strategies. However, the evidence of a direct relationship between motivation and performance is vague. The objective of this study is to determine if the motivation that pushed students to choose the medical career is associated with their academic performance during their university years.
methodsThe study was conducted in 4,290 medical students from 10 countries in Latin America. The "Attribution Scale of General Achievement Motivation" was used to evaluate their general performance. The "Medical motivation Scale" test was used to measure social, altruist, economic, and prestige motivators. For statistical analyses, frequencies and percentages were described, and generalized linear models were used to establish statistical associations.
resultsFifty percent of the students surveyed were females and the mean student age was 21 years old. This study showed that male students had a higher social/altruist motivation (PR:1.11,95%CI: 1.03-1.18; p<0,01) than females. Those who had familial pressure had a lower social/altruist motivation (PR:0.17,95%CI:0.08-0.36; p<0,001). The positive vocational test was associated with a higher social/altruist motivation (PR:1.85,95%CI:1.03-3.30; p<0,05). Moreover, good grades at school were related with a higher economical/prestige motivation (PR:1.39,95%CI:1.05-1.83; p<0,05), but lower social/altruist motivation (PR:0.85,95%CI:0.74-0.98; p<0,05) and academic performance (PR:0.63,95%CI:0.50-0.79; p<0,001). We found a higher frequency in the general motivation was associated to a lowest social/altruist motivation (PR: 0.57; CI95%: 0.46-0.70; p<0.001), and that it increased according to the year of study (PR: 1.15; CI95%: 1.03-1.28; p:0.013) and was higher when pressure by the family was present (PR: 1.36; CI95%: 1.17-1.59; p<0.001).
conclusionThis study indicated that male medical students and having a positive vocational test were associated with a higher social/altruist motivation. Conversely, those who had familial pressure and good grades at school had a lower social/altruist motivation. Is necessary to conduct further studies that assess other factors related to motivation as demographics, personality, and learning styles.
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