A STUDY OF CRITICAL CARE NURSES: THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG NEEDS FULFILLMENT DISCREPANCY, ATTITUDES AND FEELINGS OF BURNOUT, AND UNIT LEADERSHIP STYLE.
Contributors: Gonzaga University.
Published: 1984
Number of pages: 151
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between needs fulfillment discrepancy and attitudes and feelings of burnout reported by critical care registered nurses. The relationship of educational level, years in critical care nursing, and leadership style to needs fulfillment discrepancy and burnout were also examined.

A convenience sample of 137 registered nurses who worked in coronary care, adult intensive care, and pediatric or neonatal intensive care units completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), the Porter Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (JSQ) adapted by Munson and Heda, and the Ohio State Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ).

With the exception of Self-actualization, which was ranked most important, the rank order for the importance of Maslow's need levels was low level to high level, the reverse of the hypothesis. With the exception of the Security need, which was ranked most discrepant, the order of discrepancy was as predicted: high level to low level. However, inter-relationships of needs levels revealed a significant positive correlation between Security and higher order needs, both on the importance and discrepancy dimensions. The hypothesis that R.N.'s perceiving a high level of needs discrepancy would report significantly higher MBI scores than R.N.'s perceiving a low level of needs discrepancy was supported for all needs categories except Esteem.

Pearson product-moment correlations between MBI and JSQ variables revealed weak but significant relationships between items reflecting discrepancy of Self-actualization, Autonomy, and Belonging needs on the JSQ and Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization on the MBI. The Personal Accomplishment dimension of the MBI had a weak but significant positive relationship to importance of Self-actualization.

As predicted, the addition of variables level of education, years in critical care nursing, and leadership style did not significantly improve prediction of Emotional Exhaustion or Depersonalization.

However, Baccalaureate preparation and the LBDQ dimensions Consideration and Initiating Structure had significant positive relationships to the MBI scale Personal Accomplishment.

Implications for nursing administration focus on identification and change of organizational variables that may block needs fulfillment.

Results of this study support the use of expectancy theory as a basis for further research.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-03, Section: B, page: 0795.

Thesis (ED.D.)--GONZAGA UNIVERSITY, 1984.

School code: 0736.