Nursing research
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Thirty mothers of newborn infants were assigned to one of three equal-sized treatment groups to assess the effects on maternal responsiveness of an early intervention designed to familiarize mothers with the capabilities and individual characteristics of their infants. Mothers in one treatment group observed the administration of the Brazelton Neonatal Behavior Assessment Scale to their infants, were given an explanation of each item on the scale, and were told their infants' responses. ⋯ Maternal responsiveness was enhanced significantly in the "show-and-tell" group but not in the "tell-only" group. Parallel effects on infant responsiveness were also observed. '
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Based on cognitive theory of moral development, this research investigated the difference between nurses' responses to general, hypothetical moral dilemmas and their responses to real-life nursing dilemmas. The purpose of the research was to: identify recurrent moral dilemmas experienced by staff nurses; develop an instrument (Nursing Dilemma Test [NDT]) to measure nurses' responses to nursing dilemmas and the importance given to moral issues and practical considerations; relate staff nurses' responses to nursing dilemmas in the NDT and responses to hypothetical moral dilemmas in the Defining Issues Test to two subject variables (level of nursing education and length of clinical nursing experience); and compare moral judgments, both hypothetical general and nursing specific, of five subject groups (N = 225): staff nurses with associate degrees (57) and baccalaureate degrees (85) in nursing, nurses with masters degrees in nursing (10), college junior prenurses (36), and graduate level nonnurses (37). Findings verified the significance of formal education and previous involvement with similar dilemmas in enhancing principled thinking and raised questions about the relative strength of practical considerations in the hospital milieu.
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The effect of the Lamaze method of childbirth on material adjustment and feelings of crisis experienced by new parents during the postpartum period was investigated utilizing a nonprobability sample of 20 married, primiparous couples. The experimental group consisted of 10 couples who attended Lamaze classes; the control group consisted of 10 couples who did not. The women were in the third trimester of pregnancy at entry into the study. ⋯ Experimental group husbands' and wives' prebirth stress scores were significantly greater than those of the control group; stress scores increased significantly after birth for experimental group husbands and control group husbands and wives. Experimental group fathers were under significantly greater levels of postbirth stress than control group fathers, although there was no significant difference in mothers' postbirth stress scores between groups. Most mothers and fathers in both groups experienced slight to moderate feelings of crisis during the postpartum period, but no significant difference was found in crisis scores between groups.
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The specific purpose of a study that examined interpersonal communication in ongoing nurse-nurse dyads was to ascertain the nature of the relationship between interpersonal trust and empathy in nurse-nurse interaction. Analysis of questionnaire data collected from a sample of 36 diploma school nursing instructors indicated slight correlations between specific trust and general trust and between general trust and empathy. A strong negative correlation was found between specific trust and empathy. Discussion centered on an explanation for the inverse relationship between specific trust and empathy and a proposed model for how trust functions in ongoing nurse-nurse dyads.
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The concept of the "ideal nurse" was rated by 186 undergraduate and graduate nursing students on the 24-item Personal Attributes Questionnaire. PAQ contains independent subscales that measure masculinity and femininity as well as a bipolar subscale in which masculinity and femininity represent opposite endpoints on a single continuum. ⋯ Compared to undergraduate females, graduate and male nursing students rated the ideal nurse as being more masculine. Implications of these findings in the field of nursing are discussed.