Objective:

To validate the Empowerment Perception Instrument (EPI) in university students.

Methodology:

descriptive, correlational study in 1029 students of a public university in Sonora, Mexico. The sociodemographic data card and the Perception of Empowerment Instrument was applied. Measures of central tendency and dispersion, chi-square test and factor analysis were calculated.

Results:

59.6% of the students showed high global empowerment, higher prevalence in women, those aged 27 to 29 years and of the Administrative, Social and Agricultural, Biological and Health and Engineering areas. The factor analysis with 6 factors explained 72.3% of the total variance.

Conclusion:

The instrument presents a cultural adaptation relevant; it can be very useful in the field of nursing to identify the level of individual or collective empowerment of the Mexican population.