Achievement Motivation: A Case Study of the Students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Motivation is defined as the development of an individual’s desire to succeed and participate in the activities in which success depends on personal effort and ability.

The present study aimed to evaluate the status of achievement motivation in university students.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 182 medical, dentistry, and pharmacology students at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Iran in 2018. The participants were selected via simple random sampling with a probability appropriate to the selected sample size. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16 using chi-square and t-test at the significance level of 95%.

The mean age of the participants was 21.14 ± 1.68 years (age range: 19 - 25 years). The mean score of achievement motivation was 77.64 ± 7.35, which indicated that the participants obtained 66.93% of the maximum score. In addition, 89.5% and 10.5% of the students had moderate and favorable achievement motivation, respectively. Achievement motivation was significantly correlated with age (P = 0.031), male gender (P = 0.022), and maternal education level (P = 0.018).

According to the results, the achievement motivation of the majority of the KUMS students was moderate. Therefore, proper planning is required to improve the achievement motivation of these students.