Table 2.

Motives of males and females for applying for medical school

	Males				Females				Differences between genders
	1988	1998	2008	Sig.	1988	1998	2008	Sig.	1988	1998	2008
n	889-892	577-582	322-325		835-839	1,222-1,226	874-880
	%	%	%	p	%	%	%	p	%-units	%-units	%-units
Good salary	56	49	49	**	47	43	36	**	9**	6*	13**
Prestigious profession	64	66	65		56	61	56	*	8**	5*	9**
A physician in family or among close relatives	15	18	21	*	11	13	14		4	5**	7**
Interest in research		19	17			17	14			2	3
Shortage of physicians	4	6	2	**	4	5	1	**	0	1	1
Wide range of professional opportunities	61	58	43	**	64	63	45	**	−3	−5*	−2
Own or close relative’s illness	6	5	4		7	8	6		−1	−3**	−2
Career guidance	3	2	1	*	4	4	3		−1	−2*	−2**
Achievements at school	47	46	35	**	58	60	42	**	−11**	−14**	−7*
Interest in people	71	72	74		83	85	84		−12**	−13**	−10**
Vocation	30	32	35		42	45	45		−12**	−13**	−10**

Proportions of males and females who answered “Quite a lot” or “Very Much” to the question “To what extent did the following factors influence your desicion to apply for a medical school?”, and differences in propotions in Junior Physician 88, Physician 1998, and Physician 2008 studies. The items are sorted by the difference between genders in 2008. Note **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05. “Interest in research” was not asked in Junior Physician 88 study