Prevalence and correlates of academic dishonesty: towards a sustainable university

Abstract

Academic dishonesty (AD) is a problem that affects all higher education institutions. It hurts their reputation, undermines integrity programs, and sidelines sustainability efforts. To understand its negative impact, the empirical study of AD is a critical issue. Up to now, the majority of research on AD has taken place in the North American context. The current research analyzes the prevalence of AD in a non-American university and, focusing on individual differences, examines some of its causes and consequences. The results prove that: (1) AD is a problem that occurs frequently among students; (2) three dimensions of the big five personality model correlate with AD. These are conscientiousness (ρ = −0.49, p < 0.01), extraversion (ρ = 0.39, p < 0.01), and agreeableness (ρ = −0.14, p < 0.01); (3) AD is associated to students’ GPA (Grade Point Average) (ρ = −0.34, p < 0.01) and contextual performance (ρ = −0.50, p < 0.01); (4) personality accounts for 30% of AD variance (R = 0.55, p < 0.01); and (5) AD and some of the studied individual differences explain 38% and 41% of GPA and contextual performance variance (R = 0.62, p < 0.01 and R = 0.64, p < 0.01). Implications for research and practice are discussed.