Psychological and cognitive factors associated with university dropout: A Comparative Study of Economics and Psychology Students in Uruguay

Alina Machado (), Fedora Carbajal, Lucía Alvarez Núñez (), Cecilia Rodríguez Ingold (), Alejandro Maiche () and Alejandro Vásquez Echeverría ()
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Lucía Alvarez Núñez: Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Fundamentos y Métodos en Psicología
Cecilia Rodríguez Ingold: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Alejandro Maiche: Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Psicología
Alejandro Vásquez Echeverría: Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Psicología

No 25-12, Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) from Instituto de Economía - IECON

Abstract: Personality traits, other psychological factors, and cognitive abilities have consistently been related to academic performance. However, there is limited empirical evidence on how these factors jointly influence dropout decisions. This study examines the relationship between big-five personality traits, consideration of future consequences, and fluid intelligence on dropout decisions among second-year students in the Economics and Psychology colleges at Uruguay’s largest university. Using data from the 2018 student cohort and controlling for a range of sociodemographic and economic variables, we employed Probit and Multinomial Models to analyze dropout patterns. Our findings reveal that personality traits and fluid intelligence are significantly associated with dropout decisions, though their effects vary across different academic disciplines. Moreover, we identify distinct patterns in the influence of personality traits and cognitive abilities on instructional versus systemic dropout. These findings contribute to the growing literature on psychological determinants of educational outcomes and offer insights for higher education policy aimed at improving student retention.

Keywords: higher education; instructional and systemic dropout; personality; fluid intelligence; academic trajectories (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I20 I21 I23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 21 pages
Date: 2025-04
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12008/50324

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