# Exploring the meta-motivational strategies utilized by medical students in Jordan: an exploratory study

## TL;DR

This study explores how Jordanian medical students use strategies to manage their motivation, revealing key patterns and differences based on factors like gender and living arrangements.

## Contribution

The paper is the first to investigate meta-motivational strategies among Jordanian medical students, highlighting unique cultural and academic influences.

## Key findings

- Regulation of value and environmental structuring were the most dominant meta-motivational strategies.
- Male students scored higher in regulation of relatedness, and students living alone showed stronger environmental structuring and self-consequencing.
- Students who chose medicine autonomously and those involved in research showed higher scores in most motivational strategies.

## Abstract

Meta-motivational strategies refer to the ability to monitor and adapt one’s motivational state to accomplish certain goals and are highly significant in medical students due to their unique educational environment. The utilization of such strategies has not been previously studied in Jordanian medical students.

A cross-sectional design surveyed 409 students using the Meta-Motivational Strategies in Medical Students Questionnaire (MSMQ), assessing seven domains: regulation of value, environmental structuring, relatedness, promotional/preventional situational awareness, situational interest, and self-consequencing.

Key findings revealed regulation of value and environmental structuring as dominant strategies, aligning with societal emphasis on education and adaptive responses to academic rigor. Male students scored significantly higher in regulation of relatedness (MD: -0.79, p < 0.05). Students living alone demonstrated stronger environmental structuring (MD: 1.16, p < 0.05) and self-consequencing (MD: 0.68, p = 0.024). Students who chose to enroll in medicine autonomously scored higher across most strategies (p < 0.05). Students who participated in research activities exhibited greater regulation of value and situational interest (p < 0.05). GPA disparities highlighted that high achievers (Excellent GPA) scored higher in regulation of value and environmental structuring (p < 0.05). No differences emerged between first-generation and non-first-generation students.

These findings emphasize cultural, institutional, and psychological influences on meta-motivation; by bridging these gaps, educators can develop targeted interventions to foster adaptive meta-motivational strategies, ultimately supporting student well-being and success in medicine.