Control over nursing practice: a construct coming of age

The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Control Over Nursing Practice Scales using data from registered nurses (N = 1117) employed in four acute care hospitals in the Midwest. Psychometric evaluation included dimensional analysis, reliability estimation, and validity assessment of six dimensions of a 33-item instrument: responsibility and influence of head nurses, staff nurses, and committees; access to ideas; use of personal resources; and research utilization. Factor analysis reproduced six dimensions that explained 61% of the variance. Coefficient alphas ranged from .75-.89. Correlations between Control Over Nursing Practice with autonomy, group cohesion, job stress, and job satisfaction supported construct validity. Empirical testing of known group differences to obtain new information about the construct revealed that critical care nurses scored higher on research utilization than medical-surgical or obstetrical nurses; baccalaureate-prepared nurses scored higher than associate or diploma nurses on responsibility and influence: committees. Contrary to our hypothesis, there were no differences between part-time and full-time nurses on any of the six dimensions.