Evaluation of Moral Reasoning Skills among Dental Students in the Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia

INTRODUCTION: One of the main roles of healthcare educators is to prepare students to make the right ethical decisions. This study evaluated the moral reasoning levels of dental students according to Kohlberg’s six-stage moral development system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in three dental schools in the Makkah region. Senior-year students completed the self-administered Socio-moral Reflection Objective Measure (SROM), which consists of hypothetical moral dilemmas and options that mirror individual reasoning possibilities. SROM results were matched to Kohlberg’s six-stage moral development system and associations with demographic variables and perceptions of educational context variables assessed. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-eight senior students (mean age 23 ± 1.1 years) completed the SROM. Only 34.6% (n = 44) students reached stage four (morality of law and duty to the social order), while most students (63.8%; n = 81) were at stage three (morality of mutual interpersonal expectations); 1.6% (n = 2) were at stage two (the instrumental relativist orientation). No subject achieved stage 5. Attainment of moral reasoning was not associated with demographic or perception of educational context variables. CONCLUSION: Students demonstrated a relatively low level of moral reasoning. Healthcare educators must review curricula to provide focused training for students to cultivate their moral reasoning skills. Further studies are also needed to confirm and explain this low moral reasoning level in dental students.