Relationship between sociometric status and patient-rated helpfulness in a small informal psychiatric patient group

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Publication Type thesis
School or College College of Nursing
Department Nursing
Author Evans, Dale Helen Frost
Title Relationship between sociometric status and patient-rated helpfulness in a small informal psychiatric patient group
Date 1965-06
Description The purpose of this study was to determine if there would be a positive correlation between a person's degree of perceived helpfulness, as evaluated by fellow psychiatric patients, and their sociometric status in the patient group. The study was also designed to ascertain whether psychiatric patients are perceived as being more helpful than non-helpful by fellow patients. A check list describing helpful versus non-helpful behavior was constructed using twenty behavioral adjectives. Forty-four patients on two wards at the Utah State Hospital were asked to rate fellow patients on their degree of helpfulness. These patients were also asked to answer five sociometric questions, choosing five peers for each of five ward activities. As a result of the lack of meaningful data from the group of twenty-seven male patients, only the data obtained from the group of twenty-seven female patients were analyzed. The results showed patients to be rated as being helpful a greater percentage of the time than non-helpful. A high positive correlation was found between an individual's score as a helping person and his sociometric status. Patients who were judged as being highly helpful tended to be high status members of the patient group and patients judged as being less helpful tended to be low status members of the patient group. Implications for psychiatric nursing and for further research in the area of patient-patient interaction were discussed.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Helpfulness; Sociometric
Subject MESH Interpersonal Relations; Psychiatric Nursing
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Dissertation Name MS
Language eng
Relation is Version of Digital reproduction of "Relationship between sociometric status and patient-rated helpfulness in a small informal psychiatric patient group." Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library. Print version of "Relationship between sociometric status and patient-rated helpfulness in a small informal psychiatric patient group." available at J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collection. RC39.5 1965 .E83.
Rights Management © Dale H. Frost Evans.
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 672,548 bytes
Identifier undthes,5058
Source Original: University of Utah Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library (no longer available).
Master File Extent 672,593 bytes
ARK ark:/87278/s6bg2qv3
Setname ir_etd
ID 191595
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6bg2qv3