Introduction:

The demands of higher education require that students activate several competencies that allow them to face new demands successfully inside and outside the classroom. In this respect, self-regulated learning is of special interest, since it involves the implementation of a series of cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, and support-related strategies that allow the student to construct knowledge in a meaningful way.

Objective:

To describe the relationship between self-regulated learning, academic background, and sociodemographic characteristics in first-year medical students.

Methods:

A descriptive, quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional study was carried out, with a correlational scope. A sample of 106 students was obtained through non-probability sampling by accessibility. Self-regulation was assessed using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire, adapted for Chilean university students.

Results:

The value of the task, self-regulation, expectations, and organization have a much higher importance. The men reported high expectations and critical thinking; on their part, the women showed a higher level of anxiety and organization. Low number of motivational subscales and learning strategies were correlated with performance, entrance tests, and type of educational institution.

Conclusions:

This sample of students preferably uses motivational components and deep processing strategies for their self-regulated learning. Men and women differ in motivational and cognitive aspects for their self-regulated learning. Supervision, commitment, and resource management are related to higher performance in the subject.