Nursing students' stereotypes of married and unmarried pregnant clients

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of information about a pregnant client's marital status on nursing students' initial perceptions of the client, attributions of group stereotypes to the client, predictions of client behavior, data sought, and verbal responses toward the client. Forty-three undergraduate nursing students from a large Midwestern university volunteered to participate. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups, the "married client" or "unmarried client." Subjects viewed a videotape of a nurse interviewing a pregnant client and were administered a series of questionnaires. Following this, they were asked to respond in writing to five statements made by the videotaped client. Videotapes were identical except that one group was told they were viewing an unmarried woman and the other group was told the client was married. Results indicated that students evaluated the married client more positively than the unmarried client. Students' perceptions were consistent with several cultural stereotypes. In addition, students predicted that, if hospitalized, the unmarried client would have greater difficulty than the married client. There were no differences between groups in the information they would seek from the client or in responses towards the client.

Negative Perceptions of Never-Married Custodial Single Mothers and Fathers: Applications of a Gender Analysis for Family Therapists

“…While the current findings are consistent with studies regarding never-married single fathers' self-perceptions, it appears that the findings are somewhat inconsistent with literature that found that single fathers were perceived as having more negative traits when compared to single mothers (Bennett & Jamieson, 1999). However, the findings regarding the personal nature of the perceived negative attributes of single mothers appears to be consistent with existing literature that found that society views single mothers as deviant, unhappy, and having little hope for the future (Ganong & Coleman, 1995;Ganong et al, 1988).…”

“…In particular, researchers have found the negative attributes assigned to single mothers include being unhappy, deviant, troubled, and having poor child rearing abilities (Ganong & Coleman, 1995;Ganong, Coleman, & Riley, 1988;Jarrett, 1994Jarrett, , 1996. In addition to these findings Ganong et al (1988) also documented negative descriptions of single mothers' morals, which included having "unconventional" attitudes and being "liberal and promiscuous" (p. 338). These results are consistent with more recent research that finds that single mothers are viewed more negatively than other groups of parents (Bennett & Jamieson, 1999;Ganong & Coleman, 1995;Rhodes & Johnson, 2000).…”

“…This finding is consistent with the existing literature as Jarrett's (1996) participants reported that society views them as needing to engage in prostitution to take care of their children, which supports this myth of the sexually immoral single mother to an extreme extent. Moreover, Ganong et al (1988) found that participants viewed single mothers as licentious and having corrupt morals while these same participants did not comment on single fathers' sexual behaviors. However, Troilo and Coleman (2008) reported that their participants perceived single fathers as promiscuous, which contradicts the current findings and the findings of Ganong et al (1988).…”

“…Moreover, Ganong et al (1988) found that participants viewed single mothers as licentious and having corrupt morals while these same participants did not comment on single fathers' sexual behaviors. However, Troilo and Coleman (2008) reported that their participants perceived single fathers as promiscuous, which contradicts the current findings and the findings of Ganong et al (1988).…”

“…These findings on the surface are troubling, but when one more closely examines the samples used for these studies it becomes even more troubling as many of these studies surveyed participants who will have the potential to have direct care roles (e.g., nurses, social service providers) in the lives of single parent families (Ganong & Coleman, 1995;Ganong et al, 1988;Rhodes & Johnson, 2000). These findings are further troubling because research suggests that individuals internalize perceptions of others (e.g., nurses, teachers, therapists), which in these studies could mean that single mothers may internalize these negative perceptions (Steele, 1997).…”