Wach F-Sophie, Karbach Julia, Ruffing Stephanie, Brünken Roland, Spinath Frank M
Department of Psychology, Saarland University Saarbrücken, Germany.
Department of Educational Science, Saarland UniversitySaarbrücken, Germany; Department of Psychology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am MainFrankfurt am Main, Germany.
Front Psychol. 2016 Feb 16;7:55. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00055. eCollection 2016.
Although there is consensus about the importance of students' satisfaction with their academic studies as one facet of academic success, little is known about the determinants of this significant outcome variable. Past research rarely investigated the predictive power of multiple predictors simultaneously. Hence, we examined how demographic variables, personality, cognitive and achievement-related variables (intelligence, academic achievement), as well as various motivational constructs were associated with three different dimensions of satisfaction (satisfaction with study content, satisfaction with the conditions of the academic program, satisfaction with the ability to cope with academic stress) assessed approximately 2 years apart. Analyzing data of a sample of university students (N = 620; M age = 20.77; SD age = 3.22) using structural equation modeling, our results underline the significance of personality and motivational variables: Neuroticism predicted satisfaction with academic studies, but its relevance varied between outcome dimensions. Regarding the predictive validity of motivational variables, the initial motivation for enrolling in a particular major was correlated with two dimensions of subsequent satisfaction with academic studies. In contrast, the predictive value of cognitive and achievement-related variables was relatively low, with academic achievement only related to satisfaction with the conditions of the academic program after controlling for the prior satisfaction level.
尽管学生对学业的满意度作为学业成功的一个方面的重要性已达成共识，但对于这一重要结果变量的决定因素却知之甚少。过去的研究很少同时考察多个预测因素的预测能力。因此，我们研究了人口统计学变量、人格、认知和成就相关变量（智力、学业成绩）以及各种动机结构如何与大约相隔两年评估的三种不同维度的满意度（对学习内容的满意度、对学术课程条件的满意度、对应对学业压力能力的满意度）相关联。通过使用结构方程模型分析一组大学生样本（N = 620；平均年龄 = 20.77；年龄标准差 = 3.22）的数据，我们的结果强调了人格和动机变量的重要性：神经质预测了对学业的满意度，但其相关性在不同结果维度之间有所不同。关于动机变量的预测效度，选择特定专业的初始动机与随后对学业的两个维度的满意度相关。相比之下，认知和成就相关变量的预测价值相对较低，在控制先前的满意度水平后，学业成绩仅与对学术课程条件的满意度相关。
