The Effect of Depression on Motivation to Study

Abstract

To obtain information about the correlation between depression and motivation to study and identify any correlation between the questions in the survey to gain more insight into the studying habits and reasons for secondary students’ motivations Methods: a cross-sectional survey with a structured questionnaire was selected to use for data collection. Recruitment was on a voluntary basis, all participants were randomly selected and in similar age groups; however, there were varieties in gender and school systems. To test whether two variables correlate, we conduct a cross-sectional survey study. Our questionnaire consisted of 20 questions, all which have been approved by 3 experts. The sampling participants were chosen from a range of schools throughout the Bangkok province, including government schools, private schools, and international schools. The sampling participants were in grade 10-12. A total of 180 students participated in the study and completed the survey. The Statistical Product and Service Solutions version 28.0 (SPSS) was used to determine the correlation between depression and achievement motivation in the responses. It revealed that there is a negative correlation between depression and motivation to study, r(180)=-.567, p<.001. The general trend illustrates that the traits most commonly attributed to depression cause a general decline in intrinsic motivation, more specifically, motivation to study. Furthermore, there is a clear increasing trend in depression amongst Thai teens during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is crucial to continue monitoring statistics regarding motivation as the data could be significant in designing policies regarding mental health and used for parents to understand their children more completely as well.