Validation of academic motivation scale among medical students using factor analysis and structural equation modeling: Middle Eastern perspective

Ahmed Mohammed Al Ansari; Archana Prabu Kumar; Aseel Fuad Fahad AlSaleh; Mona Rushdi Khalil Arekat; Abdelhalim Deifalla

doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_1553_20

Validation of academic motivation scale among medical students using factor analysis and structural equation modeling: Middle Eastern perspective

J Educ Health Promot. 2021 Oct 29:10:364. doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_1553_20. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Ahmed Mohammed Al Ansari^{1

2}, Archana Prabu Kumar^{1

3}, Aseel Fuad Fahad AlSaleh⁴, Mona Rushdi Khalil Arekat⁵, Abdelhalim Deifalla⁶

Affiliations

¹ Medical Education Unit, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, Bahrain.
² Department of Medical Education, Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RCSI), Bahrain.
³ Department of Physiology, Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁴ Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.
⁵ Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.
⁶ Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.

Abstract

Background: Demanding careers like medicine requires a lot of motivation and the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) developed by Vallerand et al. (1992) is an instrument to measure motivation. This study evaluated the validity and reliability of AMS among medical students in the Middle East.

Materials and methods: This was a methodological research utilizing a convenient sampling technique. AMS scale comprising 28 items subdivided into seven subscales was administered to 900 students (281 students returned the filled AMS). Data were analyzed using the descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, and t-tests. Exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha were used to evaluate the validity and reliability of the scale, respectively.

Results: There was a statistically significant difference between both genders in overall scores (P = 0.015*), two subscales, namely "Identified Regulation" (P =0.017*) and "Stimulating Experience" (P = 0.015*), with females showing higher value. Second-year students (n = 91) had significantly higher score (10.9 ± 4.1) for "Amotivation" (P =.001*) and first-year students (n = 48) had significantly higher score (16.2 ± 3.0) for "Achievement" subscale (P =.014*). P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant with 95% confidence interval. No statistically significant difference was observed between the groups based on nationality or age. Bartlett's test of sphericity was significant (Chi-square: 2988.010; df = 278; P < 0.001). Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin was 0.890. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation extracted seven factors corresponding to the original items of AMS questionnaire. All subscales correlated positively except "amotivation." Structural equation modeling revealed the relation between observed and unobserved variables.

Discussion: This study demonstrated that AMS is valid and reliable for application among Middle East medical students, without needing any modification. AMS has widespread application in medical education as it impacts learning outcomes.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that AMS is valid and reliable for application among the Middle East students without needing any modification.

Keywords: Factor analysis; medical students; motivation; reliability; structural equation modeling; validity.