HARDINESS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.
Contributors: Indiana University School of Nursing.
Published: 1990
Number of pages: 118
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Personality.; Health Sciences, Education.
Description: Hardiness has been studied among several populations since Kobasa originated the concept over ten years ago. Persons with high hardiness have fewer physical and psychological symptoms, less emotional exhaustion, and a greater sense of personal accomplishment than those who have low hardiness. Baccalaureate nursing students experience stress throughout the nursing curriculum. Several students have failed or withdrawn from the program because of the stress, even when preadmission academic variables predict college success. This study examined the relationship of hardiness to academic achievement, measured as cumulative grade point average. Three hardiness questionnaires and a demographic data form were distributed to five hundred six baccalaureate nursing students from two major state universities in Indiana. Usable questionnaires (n = 422) were analyzed using descriptive statistics to describe the sample, Pearson correlations to study the relationships among the three hardiness scales and subscales, three separate stepwise regressions to determine value of the scales in predicting academic achievement, and principal components analysis to determine the factors on each instrument. Some correlations were found with grade point average and among hardiness scales and subscales, but not to the extent expected. None of the hardiness scores contributed significantly to the variance found in grade point averages, even though students' hardiness scores were similar to scores in other populations. Hardiness can be studied in relation to stress, coping, and burnout among students and other types of populations. Even though "hardiness" as a concept makes conceptual sense with academic success, perhaps the current hardiness tools do not measure hardiness in the same sense.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-08, Section: B, page: 4121.

Thesis (D.N.S.)--INDIANA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING, 1990.

School code: 0815.