Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Environment Scale (environment + scale)
Kinds of Environment Scale Selected AbstractsBlack Women and White Women: Do Perceptions of Childhood Family Environment Differ?FAMILY PROCESS, Issue 2 2007CASSANDRA M. CLAY M.S.W. Introduction: Few studies have examined racial differences in perceptions of childhood. Little is known about how Blacks perceive their own families, particularly the family environment that they experienced in childhood. Methods: A community sample of 290 women (55% White, 45% Black) from two-parent families, heterogeneous in age and social class, was examined using a self-administered questionnaire, including the Family Environment Scale (FES), followed by a focused interview. Siblings were used as collateral informants. Results: The psychometric properties of the FES showed remarkably little variation by race: The internal scale reliability, correlations between scales, and factor structures were quite similar. Although both White and Black women reported good childhood family environments, Black women when compared with White women rated their families of origin as more cohesive, organized, and expressive, and lower in conflict. Sibling responses corroborated these findings. Discussion: This study addresses a gap in the research literature and provides important evidence of strengths in Black family relationships as reported by a community sample of women. The psychometric properties of the FES, found to be strong for families of both races, lends support to our findings and those of other researchers who have used this measure. [source] The Importance and Place of Neuroticism in Predicting Burnout in Employment Service Case ManagersJOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2004Richard Goddard This study investigated the ability of neuroticism to explain variance in burnout scores obtained from a sample of Australian case managers who work with individuals experiencing unemployment. Using a longitudinal survey methodology, 70 case managers completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI; Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996) on 2 occasions. Case managers also completed the Work Environment Scale (Moos, 1994) and the short form of the revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1991) on the first occasion. In a series of hierarchical regression analyses, neuroticism added significantly to the explanation of variance in all 3 MBI subscales after summary scores describing work stress and work relationships had been entered at an earlier step. An investigation of whether emotional exhaustion mediated the influence of neuroticism on depersonalization found that emotional exhaustion satisfied the criteria for complete mediation. [source] The Nursing Worklife Model: Extending and Refining a New TheoryJOURNAL OF NURSING MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2007CCRN, MILISA MANOJLOVICH PhD Aims, We tested a modification of Leiter and Laschinger's Nursing Worklife Model by examining the impact of structural empowerment on professional work environment factors that lead to nursing job satisfaction. Background, The original model explains how five magnet hospital practice domains described by Lake (2002) interact to influence nurses' work lives by either contributing to or mitigating burnout. Methods, A non-experimental design was used. Five hundred randomly selected nurses in Michigan were surveyed (response rate 66%, n = 332). Instruments included the Conditions for Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II, the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index, and the Index of Work Satisfaction. Path analysis was used to test the model. Results, The final model fit the data well (,2 = 96.4, d.f. = 10, NFI: 0.90, CFI: 0.43, RMSEA: 0.18), supporting both hypotheses. Conclusions, The expanded Nursing Worklife Model demonstrates the role of empowerment in creating positive practice conditions that contribute to job satisfaction. [source] HEALTH POLICY AND SYSTEMS: Critical Thinking of Nurse Managers Related to Staff RNs' Perceptions of the Practice EnvironmentJOURNAL OF NURSING SCHOLARSHIP, Issue 3 2010NEA-BC, Susan Zori RN Abstract Background Information and Significance: Critical thinking (CT) skills and the inclination to engage in critical thinking are essential for nurse managers to function as transformational leaders capable of influencing staff to align with organizational goals. In an extensive literature review, numerous studies were found examining the concept of CT in students and no studies were found exploring CT in nurse managers. Identifying the attributes, such as CT, that lead to success in the nurse manager role is useful when preparing nurse managers to lead effectively in the current healthcare climate. Research Question: Is there a difference between nurse managers' CT dispositions and their respective staff nurses' perceptions of the practice environment? Design: A convenience sample of 12 nurse managers and a random sample of 132 of their respective staff registered nurses (RNs) participated in this descriptive study. CT in nurse managers was measured by the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI). Staff RNs' perceptions of the practice environment were measured by the Practice Environment Scale (PES). The research question was answered using a t test. Findings: Significant (p < .001) differences were found between specific nurse managers' CCTDI scores for open-mindedness, analyticity, and critical thinking confidence, and significant differences (p < .01) were found for systematicity when compared with their respective staff RNs' mean subscale and overall PES scores. Conclusions: Results of the study support the positive relationship between strength in critical thinking dispositions of nurse managers and their respective staff RNs' perceptions of the practice environment. Nurse managers with stronger CT dispositions may be better able to create positive practice environments that are conducive to job satisfaction and thus the retention of staff RNs. Inclusion of strategies to support the development and use of CT in nurse managers is recommended. CT and other leadership attributes and skills including emotional and social intelligence and management of change through an appreciative inquiry process may provide opportunities to improve leadership effectiveness in nurse managers. Clinical Relevance: Enhancing critical thinking skills and dispositions of nurse managers may help to create positive work environments for staff RNs. Staff RNs who work in an environment perceived to be positive may be in a better position to deliver high quality, safe patient care. [source] Validation of the Professional Practice Environment Scale in Australian General PracticeJOURNAL OF NURSING SCHOLARSHIP, Issue 2 2010BN(Hons), Elizabeth J. Halcomb RN, FRCNA Abstract Purpose: To validate the Professional Practice Environment Scale (PPE) in Australian general practice. Methods: The PPE was modified slightly for appropriateness for the practice setting and administered to a sample of 342 Australian general practice nurses via an online survey tool. The factor structure of the 38-item PPE was examined using principal components analysis with Varimax rotation. Findings: An eight-factor solution accounted for 71.6% of the variance. Low factor loading (<0.3) or cross-component loadings were detected in eight items. A comparison of Cronbach's alpha values demonstrated little change in the deletion of eight items from four of the eight related components. Conclusions: Findings demonstrated that a 30-item version of the PPE was reliable and valid for use to assess the professional practice environment of nurses working in Australian general practice. Clinical Relevance: A tool to measure the professional practice environment in general practice is important as it will assist in monitoring the impact of the work environment on the recruitment, retention, and satisfaction of nurses in this setting. [source] Temperament and stress response in children with juvenile primary fibromyalgia syndromeARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 10 2003Paola M. Conte Objective To examine temperament, stress response, child psychological adjustment, family environment, pain sensitivity, and stress response differences between children and adolescents with juvenile primary fibromyalgia syndrome (JPFMS), children with arthritis, and healthy controls. Parental psychological adjustment was also measured. Methods Subjects included 16 children with JPFMS, 16 children with arthritis, and 16 healthy controls. Participants completed the Dimensions of Temperament Survey-Revised (DOTS-R), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Children's Depression Inventory, Family Environment Scale (FES), Sensitivity Temperament Inventory for Pain (STIP), and Youth Self-Report. Responsiveness to an acute stressor was assessed by measuring salivary cortisol levels before and after venipuncture. Parents were asked to complete the parent versions of the DOTS-R, FES, STIP, Child Behavior Checklist, and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. Results Children and adolescents with JPFMS demonstrated more temperamental instability, increased levels of depression and anxiety, less family cohesion, and higher pain sensitivity compared with the other 2 groups. Parents of children with JPFMS, in rating themselves, also reported higher levels of anxiety and depression, and lower overall psychological adjustment compared with parents of children in the other groups. Conclusion These results suggest that a psychobiologic perspective may contribute to an increased understanding of JPFMS in children and adolescents, facilitating an approach to investigating the interaction of factors that appear to place a child at risk for development of a pain syndrome. Because temperamental instability, sensitivity to pain, vulnerability to stress, psychological adjustment, family context, and parental psychopathology are individual risk factors, the interaction of these factors may explain the breadth of symptoms associated with this pain syndrome, as well as its severity. [source] Implications of family environment and language development: comparing typically developing children to those with spina bifidaCHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2009B. Vachha Abstract Introduction This study examines the effect of family environment on language performance in children with myelomeningocele compared with age- and education-matched controls selected from the same geographic region. Methods Seventy-five monolingual (English) speaking children with myelomeningocele [males: 30; ages: 7,16 years; mean age: 10 years 1 month, standard deviation (SD) 2 years 7 months] and 35 typically developing children (males: 16; ages 7,16 years; mean age: 10 years 9 months, SD 2 years 6 months) participated in the study. The Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (CASL) and the Wechsler tests of intelligence were administered individually to all participants. The CASL measures four subsystems: lexical, syntactic, supralinguistic and pragmatic. Parents completed the Family Environment Scale (FES) questionnaire and provided background demographic information. Standard independent sample t -tests, chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests were used to make simple comparisons between groups for age, socio-economic status, gender and ethnicity. Spearman correlation coefficients were used to detect associations between language and FES data. Group differences for the language and FES scores were analysed with a multivariate analysis of variance at a P -value of 0.05. Results For the myelomeningocele group, both Spearman correlation and partial correlation analyses revealed statistically significant positive relationships for the FES ,intellectual,cultural orientation' (ICO) variable and language performance in all subsystems (P < 0.01). For controls, positive associations were seen between: (1) ICO and lexical/semantic and syntactic subsystems; and (2) FES ,independence' and lexical/semantic and supralinguistic tasks. Conclusions The relationship between language performance and family environment appears statistically and intuitively sound. As in our previous study, the positive link between family focus on intellectually and culturally enhancing activities and language performance among children with myelomeningocele and shunted hydrocephalus remains robust. Knowledge of this relationship should assist parents and professionals in supporting language development through activities within the natural learning environment. [source] The impact of a social network intervention on retention in Belgian therapeutic communities: a quasi-experimental studyADDICTION, Issue 7 2006Veerle Soyez ABSTRACT Background Although numerous studies recognize the importance of social network support in engaging substance abusers into treatment, there is only limited knowledge of the impact of network involvement and support during treatment. The primary objective of this research was to enhance retention in Therapeutic Community treatment utilizing a social network intervention. Aims The specific goals of this study were (1) to determine whether different pre-treatment factors predicted treatment retention in a Therapeutic Community; and (2) to determine whether participation of significant others in a social network intervention predicted treatment retention. Design, setting and participants Consecutive admissions to four long-term residential Therapeutic Communities were assessed at intake (n = 207); the study comprised a mainly male (84.9%) sample of polydrug (41.1%) and opiate (20.8%) abusers, of whom 64.4% had ever injected drugs. Assessment involved the European version of the Addiction Severity Index (EuropASI), the Circumstances, Motivation, Readiness scales (CMR), the Dutch version of the family environment scale (GKS/FES) and an in-depth interview on social network structure and perceived social support. Network members of different cohorts were assigned to a social network intervention, which consisted of three elements (a video, participation at an induction day and participation in a discussion session). Findings Hierarchical regression analyses showed that client-perceived social support (F1,198 = 10.9, P = 0.001) and treatment motivation and readiness (F1,198 = 8.8; P = 0.003) explained a significant proportion of the variance in treatment retention (model fit: F7,197 = 4.4; P = 0.000). By including the variable ,significant others' participation in network intervention' (network involvement) in the model, the fit clearly improved (F1,197 = 6.2; P = 0.013). At the same time, the impact of perceived social support decreased (F1,197 = 2.9; P = 0.091). Conclusions Participation in the social network intervention was associated with improved treatment retention controlling for other client characteristics. This suggests that the intervention may be of benefit in the treatment of addicted individuals. [source] Development of the practice environment scale of the nursing work index,,RESEARCH IN NURSING & HEALTH, Issue 3 2002Eileen T. Lake Abstract Five subscales were derived from the Nursing Work Index (NWI) to measure the hospital nursing practice environment, using 1985,1986 nurse data from 16 magnet hospitals. The NWI comprises organizational characteristics of the original magnet hospitals. The psychometric properties of the subscales and a composite measure were established. All measures were highly reliable at the nurse and hospital levels. Construct validity was supported by higher scores of nurses in magnet versus nonmagnet hospitals. Confirmatory analyses of contemporary data from 11,636 Pennsylvania nurses supported the subscales. The soundness of the new measures is supported by their theoretical and empirical foundations, conceptual integrity, psychometric strength, and generalizability. The measures could be used to study how the practice environment influences nurse and patient outcomes. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 25:176,188, 2002 [source] | |||||||||||||