title: Motivations and Predictors of Cheating in Pharmacy School.
abstract: Objective.To assess the prevalence, methods, and motivations for didactic cheating among pharmacy students and to determine predictive factors for cheating in pharmacy colleges and schools.Methods.A 45-item cross-sectional survey was conducted at all four doctor of pharmacy programs in Northern California. For data analysis,ttest, Fisher exact test, and logistic regression were used.Results.Overall, 11.8% of students admitted to cheating in pharmacy school. Primary motivations for cheating included fear of failure, procrastination, and stress. In multivariate analysis, the only predictor for cheating in pharmacy school was a history of cheating in undergraduate studies.Conclusion.Cheating occurs in pharmacy schools and is motivated by fear of failure, procrastination, and stress. A history of past cheating predicts pharmacy school cheating. The information presented may help programs better understand their student population and lead to a reassessment of ethical culture, testing procedures, and prevention programs.
authors.affiliation: Touro University California College of Pharmacy, Vallejo, California.
authors.forename: Eric J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Ip
authors.affiliation: Touro University California College of Pharmacy, Vallejo, California.
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Touro University California College of Pharmacy, Vallejo, California.
authors.forename: Bijal M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Touro University California College of Pharmacy, Vallejo, California.
authors.forename: Shadi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Doroudgar
authors.affiliation: Touro University California College of Pharmacy, Vallejo, California.
authors.forename: Monica K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Bidwal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D008192:Deception; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000592:standards*; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D012580:Schools, Pharmacy / Q000941:ethics / Q000592:standards*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D013339:Students, Pharmacy / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: academic dishonesty; cheating; medical; pharmacy; students