Values of male nursing students

Values of male nursing students (MNS) at the Ohio State University (OSU) were compared with values of OSU female nursing students, collegiate men in general, medical students, teachers, and personnel and guidance workers, using the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values Scale. The scale measures relative importance to the subject of six basic interests: theoretical, economic, esthetic, social, political, and religious. The sample included 34 men and 841 women who entered the School of Nursing in 1971, 1972, and 1973. The OSU groups scored highest on the social scale, lowest on the economic scale. Males scored higher than females on theoretical and lower on religious scales. When OSU males' scores were compared with national norms, MNS scored higher than general college males on social and esthetic scales and lower on economic and political scales; MNS scored higher than medical students on economic and social scales and lower on theoretical scale; MNS scored higher than teachers on esthetic and social scales and lower on the religious scale; and MNS scored higher than personnel and guidance workers on the esthetic scale.