Emotional exhaustion, academic self-efficacy, and academic procrastination as predictors of research motivation

Objective: To determine whether emotional exhaustion, academic self-efficacy, and academic procrastination predict research motivation in Peruvian university students. Methods: A cross-sectional predictive design was used and 1876 university students (59.9% female and 40.1% male), whose ages varied between 17 and 34 (M = 20.66; SD = 3.55), participated. The research motivation scale (RMS), academic self-efficacy scale (ASS), academic procrastination scale (APS), and the Single Item of Academic Emotional Exhaustion (SIAEE) scale were used to measure the variables. Results: It is evident that the proposed model had an acceptable fit χ²(2) = 0.5, p = 0.784, comparative fit index = 1.000, root mean square error of approximation = 0.000, standardized residual root mean square = 0.003, showing that academic self-efficacy (β = 0.26, p < 0.001) and academic procrastination (β = −0.26, p < 0.001) significantly predict research motivation, unlike emotional exhaustion, which does not predict research motivation (β = 0.03, p = 0.232). Conclusion: Academic self-efficacy and academic procrastination predict research motivation while emotional exhaustion does not, as reflected in the results.