Motivation is critical to successful academic functioning. A growing body of evidence details how motivation evolves throughout the lifetime, yet middle adulthood is rarely examined. Here we examined how trait apathy and fatigue, both of which manifest in diminished motivation, relate to self-reported academic functioning among university students aged 30–50. A total of 332 students completed trait apathy and fatigue scales, measures of academic functioning (autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, study engagement, study effort, academic stress, dropout intentions, academic performance, and study satisfaction), and measures of family, household, work-related factors. Apathy and fatigue were related to almost all academic measures, yet apathy was more closely linked to academic functioning; in particular autonomous motivation, study engagement, and study satisfaction. Our results suggest that relatively stable individual differences in motivation among healthy adults, as captured by the measures of trait-apathy and fatigue, are closely linked to functioning in a critical area – academic development.
Jurgelis et al. (Fri,) studied this question.