ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: One of the factors known to influence performance in the learning process is student motivation. In turn, students’ motivation can be regulated by a large number of variables relating to the individual (such as sex, age and socioeconomic status) or to aspects of the academic life. OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of curriculum changes involving reduction in content overload and increased early exposure to clinical settings, on motivation towards learning among Year 1 medical students. Secondarily, the aim was to ascertain whether this influence on motivation remained stable until the undergraduate program ended (Year 6). DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective study on two student cohorts at a Brazilian state-owned university. METHODS: Two consecutive student cohorts were assessed: one with a traditional curriculum (n = 87) and the other with a reformed curriculum (n = 63), at the same medical school. Participants in both cohorts gave responses on four scales in Years 1 and 6: the Academic Motivation Scale, containing subscales for autonomous and controlled motivation, and lack of motivation towards learning; Beck’s Anxiety and Depression Inventories; Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; and the Social Adjustment Scale. In Year 6, 68% of the initial sample (66 students with the traditional curriculum and 36 with the reformed curriculum) was reassessed. RESULTS: No differences between Year 1 cohorts were found regarding demographic and social background, social adjustment, depression or anxiety. Students with the reformed curriculum scored significantly higher regarding autonomous and controlled motivation than those with the traditional curriculum. Comparison between Year 6 and Year 1 showed increases in controlled motivation only for the traditional curriculum cohort. CONCLUSION: Curriculum changes were associated with increased motivation towards learning in Year 1, which persisted until Year 6.

O presente estudo tem como objetivo apresentar dados descritivos e multivariados obtidos com o NEO-FFI, uma versão reduzida do NEO-PI-R, com uma amostra de participantes portugueses. Para tornar possível este objetivo, o inventário de personalidade foi administrado a 1178 sujeitos, 68% do sexo feminino, e com idades compreendidas entre os 18 e os 90 anos (M = 41.8, DP = 22.3). A versão portuguesa do NEO-FFI reflete a universalidade das dimensões básicas da personalidade podendo, por conseguinte, ser usada como uma versão fiável do NEO-PI-R. Estes dados reforçam os resultados obtidos internacionalmente, e serão discutidos no presente artigo à luz da literatura sobre o modelo dos cinco fatores. Os resultados revelam ainda um efeito significativo do sexo e da escolaridade ao nível da personalidade (controlando a variável idade), especificamente, no que diz respeito às dimensões de Abertura à Experiência, Neuroticismo, Conscienciosidade e Amabilidade. No que se refere à Extroversão não foram encontrados efeitos significativos das variáveis individuais referidas. Verificámos ainda que à medida que a idade avança diminuem as pontuações de Extroversão e de Abertura à Experiência.

The present study aims to present descriptive and multivariate data obtained with the NEO-FFI, a reduced version of the NEO-PI-R, with a sample of Portuguese participants. To make possible this objective, the personality inventory was administered to 1178 subjects, 68% were female, with ages between 18 and 90 years (M = 41.8, SD = 22.3). The Portuguese version of the NEO-FFI reflects the universality of basic dimensions of personality and may, therefore, be used as a reliable version of the NEO-PI-R. These data reinforce the results obtained internationally, and will be discussed in this article at the light of the literature about the five factor model. The results also reveal a significant effect of gender and educational level on personality (controlling age), specifically with regard to the dimensions of Openness, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness and Agreeableness. Concerning Extroversion this significant effects were not found. We also encountered that, with age, the scores in Extroversion and Openness tend to get lower.

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar as propriedades psicométricas (validade e fidelidade) da adaptação portuguesa do NEO-FFI e comparar a estrutura obtida com a versão original americana. Como métodos para a validação cruzada da estrutura fatorial foram usados a Análise Fatorial de Eixos Principais (PAF) e uma Análise Fatorial Confirmatória (CFA). A PAF reproduziu a estrutura original do NEO-FFI e a CFA revelou modelos uni-factoriais de ajustamento satisfatório para cada uma das cinco dimensões. A análise de fidelidade revelou elevados valores de consistência interna, congruentes com as adaptações prévias internacionais do NEO-FFI. A análise multidimensional revelou efeitos principais significativos do género e das qualificações académicas na personalidade, usando a idade como co-variante. Os resultados sugerem que a versão portuguesa do NEO-FFI é um instrumento fiável para medir as cinco dimensões da personalidade.

The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties (validity and reliability) of the Portuguese adaptation of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) and to compare the obtained structure to the original North American version. The methods of analysis used for cross-validation of the factorial structure were the Principal Axis Factoring (PAF) and the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). PAF reproduced the original structure of NEO-FFI and CFA revealed a satisfactory fit of single-factor models for the five dimensions. The reliability analysis showed high values of internal consistency which are congruent with previous international adaptations of the NEO-FFI. Multidimensional analysis showed significant main effects of gender and academic qualifications on personality using age as covariant. The findings suggest that the Portuguese version of the NEO-FFI is a reliable instrument to measure the five dimensions of personality.