Autonomy of Nursing Students: Methodological Study of Validation of the PALOP Scale Portuguese Short Version

The cultivation of critical thinking and decision-making skills promotes student autonomy. Only a few instruments measure nursing students' autonomy, and the PALOP^® Scale is one of them. This study aimed to semantically and culturally adapt the PALOP^® Scale to European Portuguese and assess the psychometric properties of a short version. A methodological study was conducted with 530 second and fourth-year undergraduate nursing students. Content validity was assessed using exploratory and discriminant factor analysis, and reliability was determined through analyses of internal consistency, temporal stability, and floor and ceiling effects. The analysis of the psychometric properties of a short version of the PALOP^®-PT Scale revealed complete agreement (100%) among panel members for content validity. The scale also showed discriminative capacity among second- and fourth-year students (t (528) = -7.907, p < 0.001) with a five-factor structure, with a total explained variance of 57.2%. Reliability analysis showed excellent internal consistency (α = 0.935) and moderate temporal stability (95% ICC (3.1) = 0.520 [0.290-0.693], p < 0.01). The short version of the PALOP^®-PT Scale is a promising tool to assess nursing students' perceived autonomy and identify necessary adjustments to their professional identity.