Motivation and self-efficacy in university orientation: the mediating role of decision making.

Introduction: The decision to enrol at university can be seen as a complex process involving the student’s desire to continue formal education. The choice of a university course may depend not only on the process by which goal-directed activity is initiated and supported (Motivation), but also on the different decision-making strategies adopted and the students' perceived school self-efficacy at the end of higher education. To date, however, there is no explanatory model that takes into account the relationship between all these variables together in high school students. Following the motivational perspective of Self-Determination Theory, the study analyses the mediating role of decision-making strategies in the relationship between self-efficacy and motivation, and pre-university orientation. Methods: We applied a structural equation model in a sample of n=1823 students in the fourth and fifth years of high school. Participants responded to an online survey that assessed school self-efficacy, school motivation (Demotivation, Extrinsic Social Regulation, Extrinsic Material Regulation, Introjected Regulation, Identified Regulation), decision making strategies (Avoidance, Vigilance, Preoccupation, and Superficiality), and pre-university orientation. Results: The results show the mediating role of Vigilance in the relationship between self-efficacy [β=.09, p=<.001], Material Extrinsic Motivation [β=.02, p=<.01], Introjected Regulation [β=.02, p=<.01], and Identified Motivation [β=.02, p=<.01], and pre-university orientation. Furthermore, the mediating role of preoccupation in the relationship between self-efficacy [β=.03, p=<.01], and social extrinsic motivation [β=-.01, p=<.01], and pre-university orientation is observed. Discussions: Vigilance and Preoccupation-based decision-making strategies play a mediating role. In particular, school efficacy, Material Extrinsic Regulation, Identified and Introjected Regulation promote a student’s tendency to clarify goals earlier and to gather information in order to make effective decisions (Vigilance), thus increasing pre-university orientation. In addition, Extrinsic Social Regulation increases the tendency to Preoccupation when making decisions, which reduces pre-university orientation. Several studies have shown that the variables examined are predictive of psychological wellbeing, so these variables could promote appropriate study choices and therefore student wellbeing.