Gender differences in academic satisfaction of medical students in Argentina

Introduction: In medicine, students' expectations and motivations may vary by gender, influencing their perception of academic satisfaction, but these aspects have been little studied in Argentina. The objective was to identify factors associated with academic satisfaction in medical students by gender. Materials and method: Study using secondary data from the National Survey of Medical Students. The population included 2,301 first and fifth year students (1,820 women and 481 men). The dependent variable was academic satisfaction. The independent variables included personal motivations, sociodemographic characteristics, educational factors, analyzed using the CHAID model (Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detector). The analysis also included descriptive tests and calculation of metrics such as sensitivity, specificity and Odds Ratio. Results: The CHAID model identified that, among women aged ≤ 22 who valued fulfilling their dreams and working with different people, satisfaction reached 87.60% (node 8). Among men, the node sequence involving the importance of fulfilling dreams and improving society showed a satisfaction level of 86.90% (node 3). The model analysis yielded solid performance metrics: sensitivity of 87.60% and specificity of 73.10% in women (node 8); and sensitivity of 60.60% and specificity of 68.50% in men (node 3). The odds ratio was 2.61 for women and 3.35 for men, suggesting a stronger association between these conditions and higher levels of academic satisfaction, without implying a causal relationship. Conclusions: Young female medical students showed higher levels of academic satisfaction under specific motivational conditions, although this satisfaction appeared to decrease as they progressed through their studies. Among male students, the observed associations between motivational factors and satisfaction were less consistent.