Relationships among childhood parental care, professional school climate, and nursing student caring ability

A mailed random-sample survey of 350 senior baccalaureate nursing students explored relationships among early maternal and paternal care, the caring climate of nursing schools, and caring ability. Caring ability was quantified with the Caring Ability Inventory, Maternal and paternal care were measured with the Parental Bonding Instrument. School climate was measured on the Charles F. Kettering School Climate Inventory. There is no linear correlation between level of maternal or paternal care and subsequent caring ability (r = .01 and 0.01, respectively). However, a curvilinear relationship exists: Those with higher caring are respondents who scored both at the highest and the lowest levels of maternal care. Moreover, levels of caring within nursing schools appear to moderate caring ability developed at home. A caring school climate is the strongest predictor of caring ability (r = 0.16, P < .01). Thus, it is of concern to note that only 52 per cent of the respondents rated their schools high in caring. Caring is a valued attribute in professional nursing. If this quality is to flourish, it must be cultivated within the climate of nursing schools that exert a major professional socializing influence on future nurses.