A Comparison of Death Orientation in Student Nurses before and after Studying a Major

Choi, Soon Hee; Lee, Eun Ju; Park, Min Jung

Abstract

This study was done to compare death orientation scores for student nurses before and after studying a major. The participants were 130 student nurses before the major and 123 student nurses after the major at C university in Kwang Ju city. The data were gathered from March, 1998 to September, 2001 using a questionnaire.The data were analysed by Chi square test, t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficients. The results of this study are summarized as follows; 1. The mean scores for death orientation before and after the major were 57.8 and 60.2 respectively. The mean score of death orientation after the major tended to be higher than before but they were not significantly different. 2. There were significant differences in death orientation scores between the two groups before the major for 'physical function (F=3.83, p=0.023)' and 'attending a lecture on spiritual nursing (F=2.58, p=0.010)'. After the major there were significant difference for 'feeling of health (F=4.76, p=0.001)'. 3. The death orientation scores before the major showed an inverse correlation with religiosity score (r=-0.239, p=0.006). After the major there was no correlation with religion.