The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of levels of cognitive development, ego development, field dependence/independence, preferred mode of instruction, level of outside commitments, and other demographic characteristics on the theory and clinical achievement of junior students in an upper division baccalaureate nursing program. It was hypothesized that differences in student developmental learning styles and demographic lifestyle characteristics have a relationship to variation in student theory and clinical grades.

Study subjects consisted of 106 junior nursing students drawn from a convenience population of a large public upper division baccalaureate nursing program. To measure the relationship between the predictor variables and nursing student achievement, five self-report instruments were used. These instruments included: Erwin's Student Intellectual Development Inventory (1981), The Student Developmental Task Inventory-2 (1979), Preferred Mode of Instruction Form (1979), Witkin's Group Embedded Figures Test (1962), and a demographic form devised by the investigator. The data were evaluated by Pearson moment correlation to examine separately the level of significance of correlations among the study variables. To test the unique contribution of each variable set on theory and clinical grades, a forced entry multiple regression was completed for all possible combinations of predictor variable sets in rotating order. Preadmission verbal, math and comprehension allied health test scores were used as covariates to control for aptitude.

The results of the study showed significant intercorrelations among the developmental variables, field dependence/independence with each other, the covariates and the criterion variables, theory and clinical grades. These variables failed to make a unique contribution to an explanation of differences in student theory or clinical grades. Demographic characteristics demonstrated a significant relationship with theory achievement and to a lesser degree showed a relationship with clinical achievement. Variables related to age, marital status, having older children and number of hours worked in addition to attending nursing school emerged as the most important factors.