Horizon of Medical Education Development

Horizon of Medical Education Development

The Effect of Academic Motivation and Perfectionism on Academic Achievement with the Mediating Role of Exam Anxiety in Medical Students

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ali Mahmoudi 1
Omelila Najafi 2
1 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, Ilam University Branch, Islamic Azad University, Aligudarz, Iran.
2 Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Ilam University Branch, Islamic Azad University, Aligudarz, Iran.
10.22038/hmed.2024.80940.1390
Abstract
Introduction: Educational progress is one of the important indicators in the evaluation of the educational system, and all the efforts and actions of this system are actually to cover this issue. This research was conducted with the aim of developing a model of academic progress based on academic motivation and perfectionism and the mediating role of exam anxiety among students of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the Islamic Azad University of Aligudarz.
Materials & Methods:  This research was descriptive-correlational in the form of structural equation analysis. The statistical population consists of 598 students of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Aliguderz branch, who were studying in the second semester of 2023-2024 academic year. To determine the sample size, the principles of determining sample size in structural equation modeling were used, and 234 people were selected as a sample using a stratified random method.The data collection tool was Hewitt and Felt's standard perfectionism questionnaire (1991), Friedman and Jacob's test anxiety (1997), Harter's academic motivation (1980) and Pham and Taylor's (1994) academic achievement. SPSS 22 and Smart Pls statistical software were used for data analysis.
Results: The research results show that the research model fits the collected data in an acceptable manner. The conceptual model of the research is confirmed and all direct and total coefficients between independent variables and academic progress in the model are statistically significant. The five main path coefficients between the variables in the model are significant at the 0.05 level.
Conclusion: If students can remove their negative thoughts and beliefs and the fear of dissatisfaction in the exam and disappointment, so that they do not get involved in exam anxiety and can minimize the anxiety of the exam with positive thoughts and beliefs that come from a perfectionist student and improve their academic progress. 
Keywords
Exam anxiety
Academic Achievement
Academic motivation
Perfectionism
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Horizon of Medical Education Development
Volume 16, Issue 3
Summer 2025
Pages 87-98