The Importance of Sibling Position in the Choice of a Career in Pediatric Nursing

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The purpose of this paper was to test the hypothesis that oldest daughters are more likely to become pediatric nurse than girls in other sibling positions. A test of this hypothesis was made on a sample of 109 student nurses at the Children''s Hospital School of Nursing. The hypothesis was accepted for students who come from large sibling groups (4 or more siblings), and rejected for students who come from sibling groups of 3 or fewer members. The theory advanced to account for this phenomenon was that oldest daughters were more likely to be strongly identified with their mothers and to choose an occupation with a feminine orientation. It is felt that more evidence is needed to substantiate the theory, although there are indications that it may be valid. A special contribution of this paper is the method used to test a hypothesis relating to sibling position. Results of this study suggest that sibling position is indeed important in the selection of a career in pediatric nursing, if one simultaneously takes into account number and sex of siblings.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: