AN EXAMINATION OF THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CARING IN NURSING AND ERIKSON'S EPIGENETIC THEORY.
Contributors: University of Wisconsin--Madison.
Published: 1990
Number of pages: 232
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Education, Adult and Continuing.
Description: This study tested the conjecture that caring in nursing is associated with ego stage development. This investigation utilized Erikson's epigenetic theory as the theoretical framework, a case study design, and methodological triangulation. The population consisted of 32 baccalaureate nursing students from five NLN accredited programs.

Data for this study were gathered through four instruments. The Card Sort was used to identify the phase specific stage. Boyd's Self-Description questionnaire was used to determine ego stage development (ESD) resolution ratios. Occurrences of caring were assessed with Barrett-Lennard's Relationship Inventory (RI) and a Caring Episode (CE) Interview. The CE determined the intensity of the three elements of caring--attention to personhood, responsibility for, and regard. The RI examined interpersonal therapeutic relationships.

The conclusions drawn from this study were: (1) Caring in nursing is related to the psychosocial development of nursing students. Fisher's exact test of ESD and RI scores revealed significance in Empathic Understanding ($p$ =.0001), responsibility for ($p$ =.0002), regard ($p$ =.0005), and total average ($p$ =.005). (2) There was a positive relationship between caring and positive resolution of ego stages. The results of scatter plots of CE total average scores of the two ESD groups revealed a positive trend of caring for only the +ESD participants. (3) Caring increased incrementally as progression of ego stage development occurs. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (0.86) indicated there was a significant relationship between these two variables. (4) The nursing milieu fosters significant attention on the reworking of ego stage IV. Reanalysis of the narrative data revealed a high level of concern for technical competence which may have fostered 41% of the students to select stage IV, associated with school age, as phase specific.

The enduring contribution of this study was the seminal exploration and powerful corroboration of an association between caring in nursing students and psychosocial development.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-04, Section: B, page: 1748.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MADISON, 1990.

School code: 0262.