Middle Eastern Journal of Disability Studies

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Tayebati H, Ashrafi Ganjoui F, Zarei A, Nikaeen Z. Assessing the Status of Academic Motivation and Employment Hope in Students Concerning Gender and Depression. MEJDS 2021; 11 :142-142
URL: http://jdisabilstud.org/article-1-2482-en.html

Background & Objectives: One of the most crucial goals of the educational systems is human resource training for the development of society. Psychological wellbeing is a determining factor in students' success. Mental health problems are prevalent among university students. Approximately 1 in 7 students in the university population encounter depression, i.e., predisposed by educational problems, high living expenses, family expectations, and uncertain job prospects (Neblaker, 2017). The present study aimed at assessing the status of academic motivation and employment hope among students respecting gender and depression.
Methods: This was applied and descriptive–comparative research. The statistical population consisted of undergraduate students of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Tehran during 2018–2019. In total, 335 students were selected by the convenience sampling method. A researcher–made questionnaire collected the necessary data for participants' demographic information, Academic Motivation Questionnaire (AMQ; Valerand, 1992), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; 2002), and Qureshi Rad Employment Hope Questionnaire (QREHQ; 2008). The AMQ evaluates students' academic motivation. This questionnaire is developed based on self–determination theory and consists of 28 5–choice items that measure three dimensions of internal motivation (12 items), external motivation (12 items), and the lack of motivation (4 items). BDI measures the severity of depression. This questionnaire was standardized in Iran by Hamidi (2014). The QREHQ examines the employment hope by 20 questions. For ethical reasons, the questionnaires were anonymous, and the study participants' answers remained strictly confidential. Statistical analysis was performed using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) in SPSS at the significance level of 0.05.
Results: MANCOVA data indicated a significant gender–wise difference in motivational components (internal motivation: p˂0.001, external motivation: p=0.004 & the lack of motivation: p=000.001). However, there was no significant gender–wise difference in employment hopes (p=0.11). Depressed and healthy students were significantly different in the motivational components and employment expectation (internal motivation: p˂0.001, external motivation: p˂0.001 the lack of motivation: p˂0.001, & employment hope: p˂0.001).
Conclusion: Motivation is crucial in teaching and learning and can widely affect students' performance in educational and research environments. Thus, reducing students' current concerns about future careers is necessary to increase their academic motivation.