PROFESSIONAL NURSES' LEVEL OF MORAL REASONING AND ATTITUDES TOWARD MENTAL ILLNESS.
Contributors: University of Houston.
Published: 1986
Number of pages: 166
Subjects: Education, Health.
Description: The purpose of this study was to identify nurses' level of moral reasoning, their attitudes toward mental illness, and differences between psychiatric and medical nurse groups. The Defining Issues Test (DIT) P score was used to assess levels of moral reasoning. The Opinions About Mental Illness (OMI) Scale was used to determine attitudes toward mental illness. The study sample included 43 subjects: 22 psychiatric nurses, and 21 medical nurses.

No significant correlations were found for psychiatric and medical nurses on the DIT P score and three of the OMI factors (A, D, E). Negative significant correlations were found for the P score and factor B (Benevolence) for the psychiatric nurses and the total sample, and factor C (Mental Hygiene Ideology) for the medical nurses. No significant differences were found between groups on the P score. The mean P scores were 32.57 for psychiatric nurses, 35.47 for medical nurses, and 34 for the total sample. No significant differences were found between groups on four of the OMI factors (A, C, D, E). A significant difference was found for factor B. The B factor mean scores were 27.36 for psychiatric nurses and 16.38 for medical nurses.

The conclusions were that for the sample studied, no overall significant relationships were found between nurses' level of moral reasoning and attitudes toward mental illness. No significant differences were found between psychiatric and medical nurses in levels of moral reasoning or attitudes toward mental illness.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-08, Section: A, page: 2898.

Thesis (ED.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON, 1986.

School code: 0087.