The relationship between academic self-concept, intrinsic motivation, test anxiety, and academic achievement among nursing students: mediating and moderating effects

Background: The impact of cognitive factors on academic achievement is well documented. However, little is known about the mediating and moderating effects of non-cognitive, motivational and situational factors on academic achievement among nursing students.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore the direct and/or indirect effects of academic self-concept on academic achievement, and examine whether intrinsic motivation moderates the negative effect of test anxiety on academic achievement.

Method: This descriptive-correlational study was carried out on a convenience sample of 170 undergraduate nursing students, in an academic college in northern Israel. Academic motivation, academic self-concept and test anxiety scales were used as measuring instruments. Bootstrapping with resampling strategies was used for testing multiple mediators' model and examining the moderator effect.

Results: A higher self-concept was found to be directly related to greater academic achievement. Test anxiety and intrinsic motivation were found to be significant mediators in the relationship between self-concept and academic achievement. In addition, intrinsic motivation significantly moderated the negative effect of test anxiety on academic achievement.

Conclusion: The results suggested that institutions should pay more attention to the enhancement of motivational factors (e.g., self-concept and motivation) and alleviate the negative impact of situational factors (e.g., test anxiety) when offering psycho-educational interventions designed to improve nursing students' academic achievements.