A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF STUDENT NURSES, NURSING FACULTY, AND STAFF NURSES IN THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF WEEPING, THEIR WEEPING BEHAVIORS AND THEIR INTERVENTIONS WITH THE WEEPING PATIENT (CRYING, TEARS, SOBBING).
Contributors: University of Texas at Austin.
Published: 1984
Number of pages: 216
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: This study was concerned with whether there was a positive relationship between perceptions of weeping, weeping behaviors, and interventions with the weeping patient in three groups of nurses. In addition, the study was designed to determine if student nurses, nursing faculty, and staff nurses differed in their perceptions of weeping, their weeping behaviors, and their interventions with the weeping patient, or if the groups differed in regard to the interrelationships between the weeping variables.

The theoretical framework for the study was based on Arnold's theory of emotion and personality. An exploratory descriptive design was used. A stratified random sampling technique was utilized to obtain three sample groups of 150 each.

Four hundred fifty subjects were randomly selected from the computerized membership listings of the Texas Nurses Association and the Texas Student Nurses Association. Within the Texas Nurses Association membership listing, the staff nurse group was drawn from the category of general duty nurses and the nurse faculty group was drawn from the category of nurse educators. Each subject was mailed a packet of materials including a cover letter, a questionnaire, and a return self-addressed stamped envelope. Two hundred sixty eight (59%) of the subjects returned their mailed questionnaires and were included in the data analysis. The data were analyzed on The University of Texas at Austin computer system using the S.P.S.S. for the C.D.C. Dual Cyber 170/750 computer. The sample was described using descriptive statistics. The evaluation of data used Analysis of Variance, Chi Square, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficients, and Tukey H.S.D. Post Hoc Comparisons. The .05 level was set as the level of acceptable statistical significance for this study.

Results indicated a significant low positive correlation between all of the weeping variables. There were no significant differences between the groups in their perceptions of weeping. Although, there were significant differences between the groups in their weeping behaviors and their interventions with the weeping patient. Also, there were significant differences between the groups in the interrelationships between the weeping variables. In summary, all of the groups perceived weeping as positive and healthy, the student nurses wept more freely and frequently than did the nursing faculty, the nursing faculty intervened more therapeutically than did the staff nurses, although all groups predominantly chose positive interventions.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-02, Section: B, page: 0472.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, 1984.

School code: 0227.