Dogmatism among University Students and its Relationship with Some Variables

This study investigated the level of dogmatism among students at King Saud University and Majmaah University. It also aimed to identify the dogmatism level related to gender, academic level, grade point average (GPA), specialization, and participation in student activities. The sample of the study consisted of 499 male and female students from the two universities in the academic year 2020/2021. The descriptive method was used in the study. The data were collected through a dogmatism scale of 30 items by Al-Rakibat and Al-Ja'afrah (2019), after verifying its validity and reliability and modifying it to suit the Saudi setting. The findings revealed that there was more than moderate level of dogmatism among students in the two universities; there were statistically significant differences in dogmatism in favor of King Saud University students, where the t value reached 5.39 at the significance level P = 0.05. With regard to gender, there were significant differences in favor of male students, where the t value reached 4.06 at the significance level P = 0.05. As for the academic specialization, there were significant differences in favor of scientific specialization, where the F value reached 9.2 at the significance level P = 0.05. The study also indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in dogmatism attributed to the academic level. As for the GPA, there were statistically significant differences in favor of the lowest GPA (less than 3.4), where the F value reached 8.17 at the significance level P = 0.05. Finally, there were no significant differences related to participation in student activities. From these results, a number of related recommendations and suggestions, including preparing counseling programs to reduce the level of dogmatism among students, were presented.