THE PREDICTABILITY OF LEADER EFFECTIVENESS FROM SEX-ROLE ORIENTATION OF NURSING LEADERS.
Contributors: United States International University.
Published: 1978
Number of pages: 123
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The Problem. The study examined leader effectiveness in nursing as related to the leader's sex-role orientation.

Method. A sample of 92 male and female nursing leaders was obtained from a variety of clinical and educational organizations. The measures used in the study were the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI), the Tennessee Self Concept Scale (TSCS), and the Leader Effectiveness and Adaptability Description (LEAD). A Biographical Data Sheet was also used to gather basic demographic information and responses to open-ended questions. The demographic characteristics of the total sample were also described, and comparisons made on selected demographic characteristics between subgroups of clinical and educational organizations for the sex-role orientations and psychological qualities variables.

Results. Compared to nurses in educational institutions, nurses employed in clinical organizations were found to be more highly sex-typed as feminine and exhibited authoritarian styles of leadership with -6 to +14 range of effectiveness. Most described themselves as traditionally sex-typed. It was found that those who were highly sex-typed had restrictive leader styles. In contrast, nurses in educational institutions were found to be more highly sex-typed as androgynous or undifferentiated, and exhibited situational or demogratic styles of leadership. Their effectiveness range was from +1 to +18. Forty percent of these nurses described themselves as traditionally sex-typed, 50 percent as non-traditionally sex-typed and 10 percent were undifferentiated. It was found that these nurses had wider ranges of leader styles than those nurses employed in clinical organizations. Essentially, there was little significant difference between military and civilian samplings.

The results of this study were discussed as related to Lecky's theory of reflexive effect, or self-consistency theory. A conclusion of the study was that improvements in nursing leader effectiveness can occur when sex-role modifications are made among women, as well as men in American society. Only then can various leadership styles be accepted as relating to the problem rather than to the gender.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-07, Section: B, page: 2836.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY, 1978.

School code: 0239.