The impact of social well-being on students' academic motivation and academic achievement: a case study from Iran

Students' social well-being can significantly enhance their performance in various areas, including academic motivation and achievement. Therefore, this study was designed and conducted to investigate social well-being, academic motivation, and academic achievement among students at Dezful University of Medical Sciences (DUMS).

The present research was a correlational, descriptive-analytic study conducted as a cross-sectional design. The research sample consisted of 261 students from DUMS. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, Keyes' Social Well-being Scale (SWBS), and Vallerand's Academic Motivation Scale (AMS). Data were analyzed at the 0.05 significance level using SPSS version 26.

According to the results, the average scores of students' academic achievement, academic motivation, and social well-being were 17.12 ± 1.23, 127.16 ± 25.33, and 76.61 ± 11.35, respectively. Social well-being had a significant positive correlation with academic motivation (r = 0.234), but no significant correlation was found between social well-being and academic achievement (r = 0.077). Additionally, no significant correlation was observed between students' academic motivation and achievement (r = 0.084). Results also revealed that social well-being is associated with 28.5% and 1.11% of the variance in academic motivation (ADJ.R² = 0.285) and achievement (ADJ.R² = 0.111), respectively.

Social well-being, particularly the components of participation, solidarity, and social acceptance, is a relevant factor in students' academic motivation. Thus, considering the moderate levels of social well-being and academic motivation among students, the officials of DUMS, through proper and principled planning in providing students' social well-being, can contribute to enhancing students' academic motivation, which may ultimately lead to educational achievement.