[Validation of a Spanish version of the Decisional Conflict scale].

BACKGROUND In Chile, in approximately 50% of nursing students, nursing was not their first choice as career. Usually, during the first year, these students must decide whether they would like to continue in the same career. A valid tool is needed to identify decisional conflicts and their contributing factors among these students and to develop an appropriate strategy to support them during their decision-making process. AIM To translate into Spanish and validate the Generic Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS). MATERIAL AND METHODS The DCS was translated from English to Spanish and was used with 331 first-year nursing students at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. The scale was assessed for validity and reliability using statistical tests, including factor analysis and Cronbach alpha test. RESULTS The Spanish version of the DCS had acceptable validity and reliability. Factorial analysis identified four factors and only the item: "advice" loaded the other factors. Cronbach alpha was 0.80. CONCLUSIONS DCS is a valid and useful instrument to identify decisional conflicts and contributing factors to continue studies among nursing students.