Academic dishonesty among nursing college students: Attitudes, perceptions and dishonest activities

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between attitudes, perceptions and behaviours associated with nursing students’ academic dishonesty. A cross-sectional study was carried out on a convenience sample of 158 students at an academic college in one of the regular nursing programs taught in Israel. The research instrument was a self-report. Regression analysis was applied to the data. Results showed that about 44% of the students engaged in one or more dishonest activities. Students with a greater fear of dropping out and those with a higher perception of justification of academic dishonesty were more likely to engage in dishonest activities. Respondents with more condemnatory attitudes and those with higher perceived risk of being caught were less engaged in such activities. Nursing educators should enhance ethics education and focus on the values embodied in each country’s nurses association’s ethical code, as well as develop an appropriate integrity policy for each academic institution.