Ho, Grace W. K., & Deborah A. Gross (2015). Pediatric nurses’ differentiations between acceptable and unacceptable parent discipline behaviors: A Q-study. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 29(3), 255-264. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pedhc.2014.12.004)
Abstract: Background: Nurses are mandated to report suspected cases of child maltreatment. However, it is unclear how nurses decide what constitutes child abuse or evidence for reporting. It is crucial to examine how nurses define various forms of child maltreatment, including child abuse and its differentiation from physical discipline, to enhance our services to families with young children. Objective: The present study examined pediatric nurses’ views on acceptable versus unacceptable discipline behaviors to better understand parent behaviors that nurses are likely to deem reportable to child protective services. Methods: Using Q methodology, a convenience sample of 48 pediatric nurses from one urban medical center sorted 71 statements related to the behavior or outcome of punishing a child via the Internet application FlashQ. The statements were sorted on a predefined continuum ranging from ‘‘Most Unacceptable’’ to ‘‘Most Acceptable.’’ By-person factor analysis was used to uncover groups of nurses with similar sorts and to generate a unique sort that represented the viewpoint of nurses in that group. Results: Two distinct viewpoints were uncovered. Although there was consensus on what constitutes most acceptable and most unacceptable parent behaviors, nurses varied on their endorsement of using physical force as a form of discipline, suggesting a potential for discrepant tendencies to identify and report child abuse.
Grace W K Ho < grace.wk.ho> holds a PhD in nursing from Johns Hopkins University where she also completed a postdoctoral fellowship. She is currently on the faculty of the School of Nursing at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Deborah A Gross <debgross> is Leonard and Helen Stulman Endowed Professor in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD.
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