Impact of Competition, Discipline and Religiosity on Academic Cheating in Undergraduates

Academic deviant behavior can significantly affect students' psychology, undermining their self-confidence by creating perceptions of inadequacy in achieving desired outcomes through honest efforts. This study aimed to analyze the most influential factors causing academic cheating among final-year students, emphasizing the potential moderating role of religiosity. Utilizing a quantitative correlational research design, this study engaged 674 final-year undergraduate students (Semesters 7 and 8) to explore the prevalence and determinants of deviant academic behavior. Data were collected through simple random and targeted sampling methods and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) via the Smart Partial Least Square (PLS) program. The findings found that 83.8% of the variance in academic cheating behaviors could be attributed to discipline, competition, extrinsic motivation, punishment, and religiosity. Specifically, competition significantly influenced academic cheating (p = .64), as did extrinsic motivation (p = .21) and commitment to discipline (p = .24). However, religiosity failed to moderate the impact of competition (p = .09), extrinsic motivation (p = .12), and commitment to discipline (p = .09) on academic cheating. Additionally, religiosity was not a significant moderator in the relationship between the severity of punishment and academic cheating (p = .14). This study highlights the complex interplay of factors influencing academic cheating and underscores the limited moderating role of religiosity. The results suggest that interventions to curb academic cheating require a multifaceted approach beyond solely enhancing religiosity. Future research should further apply other potential moderating factors and develop comprehensive strategies to effectively address academic dishonesty.