Introduction:

The motivations for the choice of university studies determine professional performance to a considerable extent. Hence the need for valid, reliable tools to evaluate them.

Objective:

Validate a scale to evaluate motivational reasons to study dentistry among Cuban students.

Methods:

An instrumental cross-sectional multicenter study was conducted which included students from nine Cuban universities. Based on a tool in Spanish validated in Latin American medical students, exploratory factor analysis was performed by unweighted least squares. Confirmatory factor analysis was then carried out, and internal consistency was measured with Cronbach's alpha.

Results:

A total 1 324 participants were included, of whom 66.8% were women; mean age was 21.2 ± 1.8 years. Based on a correlation matrix, Bartlett's test yielded significant indicators (p < 0.05), and the KMO index was above 0.8. Explained variance was above 50%, and parallel analysis suggested only two factors. Factor analysis suggested to remove the following items from the initial scale: 4 and 5 (factor 1), 9 and 12 (factor 2) and 1, as a result of which the model would consist of 7 items: 3 for factor 1 and 4 for factor 2. The adjustment and the indices were appropriate, which showed construct validity.

Conclusion:

The scale for motivations to study dentistry was found to be valid and reliable. It consists of two domains denoting social and economic aspects.

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