RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POWERLESSNESS, HARDINESS, DIAGNOSIS, AND HOPELESSNESS IN PERSONS HOSPITALIZED FOR CHOLECYSTECTOMY OR METASTATIC CARCINOMA.
Contributors: University of Texas at Austin.
Published: 1989
Number of pages: 177
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between powerlessness, health related hardiness, diagnosis, and hopelessness in persons hospitalized for a cholecystectomy or with metastatic cancer. This descriptive correlational study utilized a volunteer convenience sample of 100 hospitalized persons (50 in each diagnostic group) who responded to four questionnaires.

Data were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation, analysis of variance, and stepwise and hierarchical multiple regression procedures. For the total sample, results revealed that hopelessness was significantly related to powerlessness ($r=.4017, p<.001$) and to health related hardiness ($r=.5237, p<.001$). Powerlessness was significantly related to health related hardiness ($r=.5450, p<.001$). Levels of powerlessness (mean = 5.7, SD = 3.3) and hopelessness (mean = 2.8, SD = 2.7) were low, but the metastatic cancer group had a significantly higher mean hopelessness score than the cholecystectomy group, F (1, 98) = 6.1, $p<.02$.

Health related hardiness accounted for 12% and age contributed 11% to the variance in hopelessness of persons hospitalized for a cholecystectomy. Health related hardiness accounted for 32% of the variance in hopelessness of persons hospitalized for metastatic cancer. Powerlessness did not enter into these stepwise multiple regression procedures. Results of the hierarchical regression analyses revealed that health related hardiness and greater explanatory and predictive power than powerlessness or diagnosis and accounted for 27% of the variance in hopelessness with powerlessness and diagnosis each contributing an additional 1%. While the conceptual framework provided good direction, further refinement is indicated to account for other variables influencing hopelessness.

The importance of health related hardiness must be communicated to staff nurses and student nurses so that care plans can be individualized based on the presence or absence of health related hardiness. An efficient clinical measure for determining health related hardiness needs to be developed for nurses to use when assessing patients. Future research needs to identify and validate interventions aimed at increasing health related hardiness and in identifying other variables that contribute to hopelessness.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-06, Section: B, page: 2339.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, 1989.

School code: 0227.