COMPARISON OF ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE AND BACHELOR'S DEGREE NURSING STUDENTS' ASSERTIVENESS LEVELS AND CORRELATION WITH TERMINAL GRADE POINT AVERAGES.
Contributors: Peabody College For Teachers Of Vanderbilt University.
Published: 1987
Number of pages: 100
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The need for assertive nurses still plagues the nursing profession and nursing education. The purpose of this study was to determine and to compare the assertiveness levels of associate's degree and bachelor's degree senior nursing students. An additional purpose included determination of any relationship between assertiveness levels and terminal grade point averages. Assertiveness levels were measured using the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS) (Rathus, 1973).

The sample included senior nursing students in selected nursing schools across the three regions of Tennessee. Three hundred and seventy-eight students completed the questionnaires. Data analysis included t tests, analyses of covariance, Pearson's product-moment correlations and a hierarchical multiple regression.

Results indicated a trend for bachelor's degree nursing students to be slightly more assertive than associate's degree nursing students. No significant difference existed between the assertiveness levels of senior nursing students in public and private institutions. Analysis of covariance showed no statistically significant effect of assertiveness scores associated with the students' age, race, and income. Subscales relating assertiveness to "as you see self," "as family sees you," and "as peers see you" revealed similar data, and each subscore highly correlated with the Rathus score and added validity to RAS. No significant correlation was found between assertiveness levels and grade point averages for students by type of program (2-year or 4-year) or type of institution (public or private). In the multiple regression marital status, race, full or part time, RN, and age were significantly predictive of academic success of nursing students.

Reference. Rathus, S. A. (1973). A 30-item schedule for assessing assertive behavior. Behavior Therapy, 4, 398-406.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-07, Section: B, page: 1940.

Thesis (PH.D.)--PEABODY COLLEGE FOR TEACHERS OF VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY, 1987.

School code: 0074.