The moderating effect of motivation on psychological well-being when pursuing an unwanted career

Abstract

The aim of this research was to assess whether motivation has a moderating effect on the relationship between pursuing an unwanted career and psychological well-being in higher education students. The sample consisted of 333 students; it was evaluated if the subjects were studying the career they had wanted, their level of motivation with the career and their level of psychological well-being. There is a relationship between being in the desired career and higher levels of self-acceptance, mastery of the environment and purpose in life; Motivation has a statistically significant relationship with all the dimensions of psychological well-being and influences the increase in personal growth when the person pursues a career that was not the desired one p<.0430. It was concluded that there was a moderating effect of motivation in the relationship between the desired career and the dimension of psychological well-being "personal growth". It is proposed that motivation should be a focus of intervention in the population of university students, as an influential factor in psychological well-being.