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

Background: 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. Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the status of achievement motivation in university students. Methods: 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%. Results: 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). Conclusions: 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.