Katrina McLaughlin

The role of personality and self-efficacy in the selection and retention of successful nursing students: A longitudinal study

AIM This paper is a report of a study to examine the role of personality and self-efficacy in predicting academic performance and attrition in nursing students. BACKGROUND Despite a considerable amount of research investigating attrition in nursing students and new nurses, concerns remain. This particular issue highlights the need for a more effective selection process whereby those selected are more likely to complete their preregistration programme successfully, and remain employed as Registered Nurses. METHOD A longitudinal design was adopted. A questionnaire, which included measures of personality and occupational and academic self-efficacy, was administered to 384 students early in the first year of the study. At the end of the programme, final marks and attrition rates were obtained from university records for a total of 350 students. The data were collected from 1999 to 2002. FINDINGS Individuals who scored higher on a psychoticism scale were more likely to withdraw from the programme. Occupational self-efficacy was revealed to be a statistically significant predictor of final mark obtained, in that those with higher self-efficacy beliefs were more likely to achieve better final marks. Extraversion was also shown to negatively predict academic performance in that those with higher extraversion scores were more likely to achieve lower marks. CONCLUSION More research is needed to explore the attributes of successful nursing students and the potential contribution of psychological profiling to a more effective selection process.

Gender, gender roles and completion of nursing education: a longitudinal study

The current worldwide nursing shortage and high attrition of nursing students remain a challenge for the nursing profession. The aim of this paper was to investigate how key psychological attributes and constructions differentiate between completers and non-completers of nursing education. A questionnaire including measures of gender role identity and perceived gender appropriateness of careers was administered to 384 students early in the first year of the course. At the end of the programme attrition rates were obtained. The findings indicate that males were more likely to leave the course than females. Furthermore, those who completed the course tended to view nursing as more appropriate for women, in contrast to the non-completers who had less gender typed views. The female-dominated nature of nursing, prevalent stereotypes and gender bias inherent in nursing education seem to make this an uncomfortable place for males and those with less gendered typed views. Whilst it is acknowledged that attrition is undoubtedly a complex issue with many contributing factors, the nursing profession need to take steps to address this bias to ensure their profession is open equally to both female and male recruits.

Career motivation in nursing students and the perceived influence of significant others

AIM This paper is a report of a study investigating the motivation of nursing students, their reasons for entering nursing and the perceived influence of others in their decision-making. BACKGROUND There is an abundance of research into why students drop out of nursing education, but less well-studied is their motivation for entering it in the first place. In addition, little is known about the role of significant others in their decisions. METHOD The participants were a convenience sample of 68 undergraduate nursing students in the second year of their programme. They provided answers to essay topics and the data were analysed using the principles of grounded theory. The data were collected in 2007. FINDINGS Whilst altruism was a major theme in the essays, the opportunities nursing presented were also deemed influential. Personal/self development was viewed as equally important as the desire to care. Family members in the healthcare profession were perceived to be great sources of both emotional and instrumental support. CONCLUSION The diversity within nursing and the reported opportunities that nursing presents are important motivators for nursing students, and recruitment campaigns should aim to make these more explicit. There is a need for more qualitative research into indicators of successful nursing students if we are to address not only student dropout, but also to recruit those most likely to complete their education and remain in the nursing profession.

Adolescents' perceptions of national identification and socialization: A grounded analysis

This paper examines the perceived influence of parents and family and the construction of national and religious identification amongst adolescents theoretically sampled from along the border between the Irish Republic and the Northern Ireland. Two hundred and sixty-one young people wrote essays on the meaning of their national identity and the influence of parents, families and the border on national and religious identities. Lengthy and detailed responses were subjected to a grounded analysis. Results revealed the complexity of young peoples identification processes and their opinions and experiences of religious and national socialization. The majority of respondents attached a great deal of significance to their national identity. Identity was represented across a range of meanings including sport, government policy, culture, folklore and characteristics thought typical of a given nationality. Diversity was valued though national and religious categories were defined exclusively. Parents and family were viewed as important sources of socialization and the intergenerational transmission of identity was viewed as natural and inevitable. There was a widespread belief that national and religious identity overlapped and though many asserted that religion could promote tolerance and inclusion there was an implicit acceptance that it could also fuel intergroup hostilities.

Adolescents' Explanations for Paramilitary Involvement

Current understanding of the motivations of young people who engage in paramilitary activity is poor. The youth bulge literature has made important advances in understanding determinants of political violence at population level; however, the psychological processes that underpin engagement with political violence among young people are less clearly understood. Further, the pathologization of terrorist activity has hampered deeper understanding of the motivations of those who seek to effect change using violence. This article explores the explanations offered by 14—16-year-olds regarding possible motivations of young people who engage in paramilitary activities in Ireland. Seventy-four Protestant and Catholic young people residing in the border regions of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic completed an essay-writing task which elicited explanations for paramilitary involvement. Young peoples explanations were multi-levelled and varied, reflecting the breadth and diversity of their personal circumstances and experiences. The essays were analysed using a Grounded Theory approach, which generated four categories of explanations for paramilitary involvement, namely, social identification explanations, family and socialization explanations, developmental explanations and pathological explanations. Though not asked to express a personal judgement regarding such activity, a substantial proportion of respondents did, with females being more likely than males to openly condone or condemn such activity. Discussion and interpretation of these findings centre on understanding of paramilitary involvement in areas affected by political violence.

Music in mind, a randomized controlled trial of music therapy for young people with behavioural and emotional problems: study protocol.

AIMS This article is a report of a trial protocol to determine if improvizational music therapy leads to clinically significant improvement in communication and interaction skills for young people experiencing social, emotional or behavioural problems. BACKGROUND Music therapy is often considered an effective intervention for young people experiencing social, emotional or behavioural difficulties. However, this assumption lacks empirical evidence. STUDY DESIGN Music in mind is a multi-centred single-blind randomized controlled trial involving 200 young people (aged 8-16 years) and their parents. Eligible participants will have a working diagnosis within the ambit of international classification of disease 10 mental and behavioural disorders and will be recruited over 15 months from six centres within the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services of a large health and social care trust in Northern Ireland. Participants will be randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to receive standard care alone or standard care plus 12 weekly music therapy sessions delivered by the Northern Ireland Music Therapy Trust. Baseline data will be collected from young people and their parents using standardized outcome measures for communicative and interaction skills (primary endpoint), self-esteem, social functioning, depression and family functioning. Follow-up data will be collected 1 and 13 weeks after the final music therapy session. A cost-effectiveness analysis will also be carried out. DISCUSSION This study will be the largest trial to date examining the effect of music therapy on young people experiencing social, emotional or behavioural difficulties and will provide empirical evidence for the use of music therapy among this population. Trial registration. This study is registered in the ISRCTN Register, ISRCTN96352204. Ethical approval was gained in October 2010.

The Moral Boundaries of the Nation: The Constitution of National Identity in the South Eastern Border Counties of Ireland

Abstract This article argues that nationalism is more varied in the way that it constructs its boundaries than contemporary scholarship suggests. In an interdisciplinary, multi-stranded qualitative study of ethno-national identity on the Southern side of the Irish border, it shows the moral repertoires that qualify, conflict with, and on occasion replace, territorial, ethnic and state-centred aspects of national identity. It refocuses attention on the cultural and normative content of imagined national communities, and the different ways in which general norms function in particular communal contexts. It casts a new light on Southern attitudes to Irish unity. More generally, it suggests that a form of ‘moral nationalism’ is possible, distinct from the forms of nationalism—ethnic and civic nationalism and trans-nationalism—discussed in the literature.

Religion, Ethnicity and Group Identity: Irish Adolescents’ Views

The article examines aspects of religious identity for young people living along the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in terms both of religious and ethno-national content and encompassing personal as well as collective components. Religion is seen as both positive and negative. It is constructed as strengthening family bonds, providing a sense of belonging and history and fostering tolerance and acceptance. Paradoxically it is also seen as fuelling extant intergroup hostilities.

Recruiting Participants for Randomized Controlled Trials of Music Therapy: A Practical Illustration

BACKGROUND Failure to recruit sufficient numbers of participants to randomized controlled trials is a common and serious problem. This problem may be additionally acute in music therapy research. OBJECTIVE To use the experience of conducting a large randomized controlled trial of music therapy for young people with emotional and behavioral difficulties to illustrate the strategies that can be used to optimize recruitment; to report on the success or otherwise of those strategies; and to draw general conclusions about the most effective approaches. METHODS Review of the methodological literature, and a narrative account and realist analysis of the recruitment process. RESULTS The strategies adopted led to the achievement of the recruitment target of 250 subjects, but only with an extension to the recruitment period. In the pre-protocol stage of the research, these strategies included the engagement of non-music therapy clinical investigators, and extensive consultation with clinical stakeholders. In the protocol development and initial recruitment stages, they involved a search of systematic reviews of factors leading to under-recruitment and of interventions to promote recruitment, and the incorporation of their insights into the research protocol and practices. In the latter stages of recruitment, various stakeholders including clinicians, senior managers and participant representatives were consulted in an attempt to uncover the reasons for the low recruitment levels that the research was experiencing. CONCLUSIONS The primary mechanisms to promote recruitment are education, facilitation, audit and feedback, and time allowed. The primary contextual factors affecting the effectiveness of these mechanisms are professional culture and organizational support.

Parenting programmes for incarcerated parents

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To assess the effectiveness of parenting programmes for improving parenting skills and outcomes for incarcerated parents and their children.