NURSES' JOB SATISFACTION, COMMITMENT, SEARCH BEHAVIOR AND INTENT TO LEAVE THE AIR FORCE: A TEST OF A CAUSAL MODEL (UNITED STATES AIR FORCE).
Contributors: University of Iowa.
Published: 1993
Number of pages: 189
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Sociology, Industrial and Labor Relations.
Description: The purpose of this research was to develop and estimate a causal model of job satisfaction, commitment, search behavior and intent to leave the Air Force based on previous research by Price and Mueller. Three perspectives, economics, psychology, and sociology, provide the conceptual basis for the study. The causal model estimated in this research includes 22 independent variables divided into three groups. The work conditions variables are autonomy, distributive justice, routinization, peer support, supervisor support, work overload, resource inadequacy, role ambiguity, role conflict, promotional opportunity, professional growth, pay, legitimacy, military community and job hazards. Employee characteristics estimated are positive affectivity, negative affectivity, general training and work motivation. Environmental variables include kinship responsibility and job opportunity. This integrated model was tested using a sample of 256 military nurses serving on active duty in the United States Air Force. Multiple regression techniques were used to analyze the data and estimate the causal model.

The results support the inclusion of economic, psychological, and sociological variables in this causal model. The causal model explains 58 percent of the variance in job satisfaction, 56 percent of the variance in Air Force commitment, 38 percent of the variance in search behavior, and 68 percent of the variance in intent to leave for this sample of Air Force nurses. Job satisfaction ($-$.456) and Air Force commitment ($-$.455) have the greatest total causal effect of all the variables on intent to leave. Promotional opportunity ($-$.304) and military community ($-$.193) have the third and fourth largest effects on intent to leave in this study. Both of these variables were added to the model because of their relevance to a study of the military. As expected, these variables are important influences on the nurses' decision to remain in or leave the Air Force.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: B, page: 3552.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA, 1993.

School code: 0096.