AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ASPIRATION INDEX AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG PREVENTIVE MEDICINE...

The concept of low-aspiration lying flatism has gained wide popularity and acceptance among university students, which may negatively affect their academic development and value formation. This study aimed to explore the association between the aspiration index and academic performance among preventive medicine students.

A total of 224 preventive medicine students enrolled in 2021 at Wannan Medical College were selected as participants. Data were collected via a questionnaire survey. The aspiration index scale was used to assess students' aspiration index, which were categorized into intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Overall assessment scores were used to measure academic performance. Linear regression model was employed to analyze the relationship between aspiration index and academic performance.

We obtained 213 valid questionnaires, including 82 from male students. There was a positive association between aspiration index and overall assessment scores (β=0.05, 95% CI: 0.03-0.07). In separate regression analyses, both intrinsic goals (β=0.09, 95% CI: 0.06-0.12) and extrinsic goals (β=0.06, 95% CI: 0.02-0.09) positively predicted overall assessment scores. However, when intrinsic and extrinsic goals were included simultaneously in the regression model, only intrinsic goals were significantly positively associated with overall assessment scores (β=0.09, 95% CI: 0.05-0.13), while extrinsic goals showed no significant association (β=0.01, 95% CI: -0.04-0.05).

The findings suggested that educators should focus on enhancing students' intrinsic goals rather than overemphasizing extrinsic goals. Guiding students to pursue intrinsic goals can help foster positive learning motivation and improve the quality of talent cultivation.