The Motivational Bridge: Parental Relationship, Parental Guidance, and Academic Performance among Chinese Medical Students

This study investigates the relationships between parental relationship, parental guidance, learning motivation, and academic performance among public medical university students in Henan Province, China, with learning motivation examined as a mediating variable. Using a quantitative design, data were collected from 517 students across two public medical universities and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results show that both parental relationship and parental guidance significantly enhance learning motivation, but only parental guidance has a direct positive effect on academic performance. Learning motivation was a strong predictor of academic performance and partially mediated the relationship between parental guidance and performance, while mediation for parental relationship was not significant. These findings, interpreted through Self-Determination Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework, underscore the importance of structured parental guidance in fostering student success. The study offers practical implications for universities and parents to collaborate in creating motivation-supportive environments and recommends future research incorporating broader parental influence variables and longitudinal designs.