COPING AND ITS RELATION TO RETENTION AMONG MALE MINORITY NURSING STUDENTS IN AN ASSOCIATE DEGREE NURSING PROGRAM IN A SOUTH TEXAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE: AN EXPLANATORY SEQUENTIAL MIXED METHODS INQUIRY

In Texas, there is an increase in the enrollment of men of various ethnicities in nursing schools, especially Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) programs. As these men strive to complete the nursing education, they face many concerns that center on barriers that are encountered in what is still a predominately Caucasian and female environment. In addition to barriers of academic deficiencies and a lack of finances that impede recruitment and retention for both men and women; men experience barriers such as lack of minority male role models and mentors; alienation due to a perceived lack of support from Caucasian faculty and classmates; the perceptions of being uncaring; and gender stereotyping. The barriers can predispose these men to environments that are stress-laden and that tax and exceed their resources. Hence the questions are posed, if it is accepted that being a male minority nursing student is a stressful life event, how do these students cope? Does coping influence the likelihood of completing the nursing program? Is there a relationship between coping skills and retention in the nursing program? The primary purpose of the study was to determine the coping skills of male minority nursing students and the extent of the association between coping and the likelihood of retention in the nursing program. The secondary purpose of the study was to examine the perspectives of these men toward nursing school. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was employed. The quantitative component of the study was correlational in nature. The study's independent variables were eight coping skills and the outcome measure was retention. The qualitative component of the study employed a focus group format, since it allows participants to relate experiences and reactions among presumed peers with whom they likely share some common frame of reference. A non-probability sample of 39 male minority nursing students with the racial/ethnic designation of African-American, Asian, Hispanic, and Pacific Islander/Filipino completed the 50-item Ways of Coping Checklist, which measured confrontive, distancing, self-control, seeking social support, accepting responsibility, escape-avoidance, planful problem-solving, and positive reappraisal coping skills. The qualitative data were obtained from the focus group of four participants. Analysis of quantitative data showed statistically significant difference among the coping skills, with planful problem-solving being the coping skill used the most and escape-avoidance was the skill used the least. None of the simple and partial correlations between the coping skills and the likelihood of remaining in the program were statistically significant. Analysis of the qualitative data yielded two categories: coping as a nursing student and managing stress as a nursing student. Three themes were developed from the categories: coping skills usage, stress management, and program completion perspectives. The program completion perspectives gauged the likelihood of the participants' completing the nursing program. It is recommended to replicate the study using a different criterion (e.g. completion of the nursing program); collecting data on predictor variables at the beginning of the school year and measure the outcome as a binary variable (retain versus not retain) at the beginning of the following year. An examination of the coping skills of male nursing students with military background may also be informative.