THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL SUPPORT NETWORKS ON THE RETENTION OF REGISTERED NURSING STUDENTS ENROLLED IN A BACCALAUREATE COMPLETION PROGRAM (NURSING EDUCATION).
Contributors: Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
Published: 1992
Number of pages: 89
Subjects: Education, Higher.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The purpose of this study was to determine the quality, quantity, and type of social support perceived by registered nursing students at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and the relationship of those support networks to retention in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing completion program offered on- and off-campus.

The Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire (NSSQ) was completed by 103 graduates and 49 drop-outs of the nursing program; therefore the response rate was 60.2% for the graduates and 27% for the drop-outs. Concern about the low response rate from drop-outs prompted the researcher to contact ten more drop-outs per telephone to verify the demographic data collected during the study. The drop-outs contacted fit the profile of the ones in the study. Six hypotheses were tested that examined the differences in social support between the graduates and drop-outs. Although no contrasting profile was developed, the "typical" graduate was 37 years old, Caucasian, Protestant, married female with 16 years of education. Similarly, the drop-out profile revealed a 40-year-old, Caucasian, Protestant, married female with nearly 15 years of education.

Of the three main variables/subscales measured by the NSSQ, only Total Network Score showed significant differences between the two groups. Graduates had more persons in their network, had known them longer, and had more frequent contact with them than did drop-outs. Both graduates and drop-outs used the same four primary sources of support in the same rank order: family/relatives, friends, spouse, and work. Graduates more often cited work and peer support than did drop-outs. Recommendations for schools of nursing and for further research were made.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-08, Section: A, page: 2907.

Thesis (PH.D.)--SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY AT CARBONDALE, 1992.

School code: 0209.