title: Nurses organizational commitment: the discriminating power of gender.
abstract: The study of the organizational commitment has risen interest within the organization's researchers, who have been trying to understand the intensity and stability of the individual's dedication to the organization. The interest that this construct has raised is based on the idea of the existence of an association of the organizational commitment with variables considered important to the increase of the organizational effectiveness and productivity. The aim of this article is to describe organizational commitment, in its affective, normative, and continuance dimensions, from nurse practitioners, and to analyze the differences of that commitment regarding gender. Data were collected by questionnaire. The sample is constituted by nurse practitioners who develop their professional activity in 6 Portuguese hospitals. Data were analyzed using means, standard deviation, and independent samples t test. The sample consists of 1201 nurses. The organizational commitment of the studied nurses is, on average, 2.87+/-0.69 (in 5-point scale). When we make an analysis regarding gender, we verify that the organizational commitment is higher in women, being the difference statistically significant (t = -2.07; P < .05). There are different levels of commitment in male and female nurses, and it is higher in all dimensions in female nurses; however, the difference is only significant to the organizational and continuance commitment.
authors.affiliation: Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing Domain, Coimbra Nursing School, Coimbra, Portugal. mfrederico@eseaf.pt
authors.forename: Maria Manuela Frederico
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ferreira
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000523:psychology*; D009727:Nurses, Male / Q000523:psychology*; D015401:Nursing Administration Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D010558:Personnel Loyalty; D010563:Personnel Turnover; D011174:Portugal; D012737:Sex Factors; D012951:Socialization; D013240:Stereotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014931:Women, Working / Q000523:psychology*