Factor structure of the attitudes toward cheating scale: An exploratory structural equation modeling analysis

Abstract

Although the attitude of students toward academic cheating has been an important variable in academic misconduct research, few researchers have examined the factor structure of cheating attitudes. The current research analyzed the factor structure of an important scale in this area—the Attitudes toward Cheating (ATC) scale. The findings of the current research revealed a three-factor solution of academic cheating: conservativeness in the cheating accusation, justification of cheating, and perceived immorality of cheating students. In addition, the three factors that were identified were only weakly correlated; meaning that cheating attitudes are multi-faceted. Therefore, the common practice of calculating an overall ATC scale score may not be adequate for fully capturing cheating attitudes. Finally, the current paper serves as an example of how to employ the powerful statistical technique of exploratory structural equation modeling.