Paper
Thursday, July 22, 2004
The Relationship of Sense of Belonging and Personal Hardiness to Level of Caring Behaviors Among Female Nurse Aides Working in a Long-Term Care Setting
Bridgette Walsh Zielinski, PhD, Nursing, Nursing, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA, USA
| Learning Objective #1: Discuss sense of connectedness between self and others and a need to care for others as a central point of feminine development |
| Learning Objective #2: Discuss internal variables of female nurse aides influencing caring behaviors delivered to residents in long-term care facilities |
It is estimated that by the year 2030,the number of elderly living in nursing homes will increase to 2 million (Holtz, 1982). Most nursing assistants who provide direct care in nursing homes are female (Mercer, Heacock, & Beck, 1994). Hagerty, Lynch-Saurer, Patusky, Bousema, and Collier (1992) stated that sense of belonging serves as a foundation for emotional and behavioral responses. The dimensions of hardiness are embedded in the concept of caring through commitment of one to another, challenge through personal development, and control to assist another in the growth process (Mayeroff, 1971). It was hypothesized that sense of belonging and sense of personal hardiness together would explain a greater proportion of the variances in levels of caring behaviors than either variable considered independently. A multiple regression model was used to examine the effects of sense of belonging and personal hardiness on caring behaviors.The investigator asked nurses to complete a self-administered modified form of the Caring Behaviors Inventory (Wolf, Giardino, Osburne, & Ambrose, 1994) on all nurse aides they supervised who agreed to participate in the study. Eighty female nurse aides completed the self-administered Sense of Belonging Instrument-Psychological (Hagerty, et al., 1992) and the Personal Views Survey111-R (The Hardiness Institute, April 18, 2000). The hypotheses were not supported. Significant findings in this study included a significant negative relationship between sense of belonging and personal hardiness; a significant negative correlation between age of nurse aide subjects and sense of belonging; and a significant positive correlation between age of nurse aide subjects and personal hardiness. Lack of support for the hypotheses was attributed, in part, to currently undetermined precursors of sense of belonging. In addition, ethical beliefs, socialization processes, cultural norms, and social organization in the workplace that can affect psychological elements of caring as identified by Valentine (1989) warrant further exploration.
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Sigma Theta Tau International
July 22-24, 2004