Role of emotional creativity on achievement motivation among University students with traumatic experiences

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the role of emotional creativity in students' achievement motivation who have experienced traumatic events. Some less commonly recognized sources of trauma, including surgeries (especially during the formative years of life), sudden loss of a loved one, the dissolution of a significant relationship, or experiencing profound humiliation or disappointment, are noteworthy (Robinson et al., 2017). Many students from various faculties experience varying levels of such issues and academic motivation-related challenges within their program structure. The traumatic experiences students have faced and the post-traumatic symptoms create numerous psycho-social and emotional consequences among university students, potentially affecting their emotional creativity and achievement motivation. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Ethics Review Committee of the Faculty of Medicine (University of Peradeniya) to conduct this research. The present study employed a quantitative method approach, consisting of measures to assess emotional creativity, achievement motivation, and trauma symptoms in the sample. The sample studied by the researchers included 337 undergraduates from nine different faculties at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. The results of the current study show that emotional creativity has a significant correlation with achievement motivation. Emotional novelty does not exhibit a significant correlation with achievement motivation. Emotional effectiveness and authenticity demonstrate a significant correlation with achievement motivation. Only hyperarousal as a trauma symptom shows a negative correlation with achievement motivation. Regression analysis concluded that the impact of emotional creativity on achievement motivation falls between higher and lower levels. Moreover, the mediating effect of trauma symptoms on the relationship between emotional creativity and the outcome variable (achievement) was assessed. Trauma symptoms were found to mediate the relationship, influencing achievement motivation among undergraduates."