Instrument to measure psychological contract violation in pharmacy students.
OBJECTIVE
To adapt and evaluate an instrument that measures perceived psychological contract violations in pharmacy students by schools and colleges of pharmacy.


METHODS
A psychological contract violations measure was developed from existing literature and the 1997 ACPE Guidelines and pilot-tested with second-year pharmacy students at 2 schools of pharmacy. A revised measure then was administered to second-year pharmacy students at 6 schools of pharmacy. Using a 5-point Likert-type scale, participants were asked to indicate the level of obligations they received compared to what was promised by the school of pharmacy.


RESULTS
Exploratory factor analysis on the psychological contract violations measure was conducted using principal components analysis resulting in 7 factors, which led to a revised measure with 26 items. Using a sample of 339 students, the proposed 7-factor measurement model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. In general, the results supported the hypothesized model. The final 23-item scale demonstrated both reliability and validity. Some students perceived certain aspects of the psychological contract that exists with their school of pharmacy were being violated.


CONCLUSIONS
The psychological contract violations measure may serve as a valuable tool in helping to identify areas where their students believe that schools/colleges of pharmacy have not fulfilled promised obligations.
College of Pharmacy, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73126-0901, USA. alan-spies@ouhsc.edu
Alan R
AR
Spies
Noel E
NE
Wilkin
John P
JP
Bentley
Alicia S
AS
Bouldin
Marvin C
MC
Wilson
Erin R
ER
Holmes
D000328:Adult; D032982:Contracts; D004512:Education, Pharmacy / Q000592:standards*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011361:Professional Competence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012580:Schools, Pharmacy / Q000592:standards; D013339:Students, Pharmacy / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult