Work motivation and affect regulation capabilities in a group of italian military finance students

Abstract

Motivation in the workplace has been a central topic in regard to both theoretical and or-ganisational issues. The aim of this study was to examine the association between affect regu-lation capabilities levels and different motivational dimensions according to the self-determination theory in military students. Following questionnaires were administered to 198 Italian military finance students (183 male): a sociodemographic questionnaire, the 20-itemToronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and the Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale (MWMS). Data analysis showed that the high affect regulation capabilities group scored sig-nificantly higher in autonomous motivation compared to the intermediate and low affect capa-bilities groups and significantly lower in external motivation. Meanwhile, the low affect regu-lation capabilities group scored significant higher in amotivation compared to the intermediate and high affect regulation capabilities groups. The results confirmed the association between abilities in emotional regulation and motivational dimension scores. Further studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results, which could orientate the selection and training of future military students.