A History of the Ministry of Information, 1939-46
APPENDIX (i)
ATTITUDES OF MOTHERS
Supplementary information was required on the attitudes of parents towards girls’ taking up nursing, as parents may be expected to have some influence on their daughters’ choice of a career.
A sample of 487 mothers was interviewed. The interviews were carried out with women who had daughters between the ages of 13 and 34 contacted during the course of another survey, for which a representative sample of housewives was selected. No investigation was made into the attitudes of fathers.
So far as possible mothers were asked the same questions as were asked of working women and schoolgirls so that a comparison of the attitude of these different group might be made.
(a) Attitudes towards Nursing as a career .
Informants were asked: “What are your ideas in general about the life and work of a nurse?” (Question 2).
Replies were classified in the same way as the replies made by working women and schoolgirls to this question. (See page 6).
In the table below the frequencies with which different answers were made by the three groups are compared.
In considering these results the composition of the different groups should be borne in mind. It is true they represent three different age groups, the mothers being the oldest group, the working women the middle group and the schoolgirls the youngest group.
However, there are other differences between them besides age. The mothers represent the whole population of mothers, the proportions in different income groups being the same as those existing in that of the whole population.
The working women (aged 16-34) represent the bulk of single women in this age group, but those doing professional or managerial work (the higher income group) are excluded.
The schoolgirls represent only those who have reached a relatively high standard of education, namely those who (a) attend secondary schools and (b) have remained at school until at least the age of 16.
These facts should be borne in mind when considering what appear to be trends to this and the following tables.
It will be seen that a lower proportion of mothers than of the other groups gave unfavourable answers. The proportion giving favourable answers is slightly higher among mothers than among the other groups.
Analysis of mothers’ replies by income group showed a rather higher proportion in the lower groups than in the higher groups (18 ± 4 as against 9 ± 5) answering “Don’t know”. This suggests that mothers of the lower income groups are perhaps less prone to think of nursing as a possible career for their daughters than are mothers in the higher income group.
The frequencies with which mothers made different specific comments (see page 8) do not differ much from the frequencies with which working women made much comments. About the same proportion of mothers as of working women said that the life or work was “hard” (26 and 27 respectively).
Only 6% of mothers as against 14% of working women and 19% of schoolgirls used the word “interesting” as applied to a nurse's life or work.
6% of mothers as against 2% in each of the other groups said that a nurse needed to be strong to be able to stand up to the work.
(b) Advantages and Disadvantages.
Mothers were asked: “Considering nursing as a career, what do you think are the main advantages or attractions?” (Question 3a).
A higher proportion of mothers than of the other groups gave negative answers.
The advantage that the work is “interesting” is less frequently mentioned by mothers, and “It’s a career. Regular work” is mentioned rather more frequently by them.
(c) Disadvantages and Drawbacks
“Considering nursing as a career, what do you think are the main disadvantages or drawbacks?” (Question 3.b.)
Differences in the answers received from mothers and from working women are only slight. The proportion of mothers saying the life or work is “hard” is relatively high. Mothers less frequently than working women gave “unpleasant sights” as a disadvantage.
In the case of both advantages and disadvantages, analysis by economic group showed a higher proportion in the lower economic groups answering “Don’t know”.
(d) Attitudes towards daughters’ taking up nursing
Mothers were asked whether any of their daughters wished to take up nursing (Question 1). The table below shows the proportion of daughters whose mothers said they wanted to nurse, the 487 mothers having altogether 635 daughters who were unmarried and in the age group considered.
It will be remembered that 16% of working women and 26% of schoolgirls said they were thinking of volunteering for nursing when they were called up. A further 9% and 8% of these two groups respectively were doubtful. The difference between these results suggests that mothers may not in many cases be aware of their daughters’ wishes, and further, that some girls when considering whether or not to volunteer for nursing have not thought it a matter needing their parents’ consideration or consent.
Of all the mothers, 21% had one or more daughters who wanted to take up nursing or who were doubtful about it.
Those mothers who said they had daughters who wished to take up nursing or were doubtful about it, were asked “What do you feel about your daughter becoming a nurse?”
Only a small proportion definitely objected to their daughters taking up nursing, though nearly a third of those with daughters who wanted to nurse had some doubts as to whether it was a good career for them. More than half were definitely in favour.
Only 29 of the mothers had daughters who were schoolgirls and who wanted to take up nursing, and therefore results cannot be given for the questions put to this group (Questions, 5, 6 and 7), the number answering being too small to give reliable results.
(e) Attitudes to Specialising
Mothers who had daughters who wished to nurse or who were doubtful about it, were asked whether they would like their daughters to specialise in any particular branch of nursing, or whether they would have any objection to their specialising in certain branches.
The branches of nursing selected for inquiry were children’s, tuberculosis, fever, mental and midwifery.
Replies about each of these branches were classified as “Preference”, “No objection” and “Objection”, and “No opinion” including those who were unable to say.
The most marked preference is for children’s nursing. It will be remembered that a greater proportion of working women and schoolgirls wished to specialise in children’s nursing than in any other branch.
Rather more than a third would object to their daughters’ specializing in T.B. nursing and substantial proportions would also object to fever and mental nursing being chosen for specialisation.
The proportions who would object to their daughters specialising in midwifery or children’s nursing are small.
(f) Knowledge of Conditions
Mothers were asked: “Do you think nurses’ working conditions have improved at all during the last year?” (Question 9).
| Mothers | Working Women | Secondary Schoolgirls | |
| % | % | % | |
| Yes, improved. | 41 | 54 | 65 |
| No, not improved. | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Don’t know. | 52 | 39 | 28 |
| Sample: | 487 | 1,967 | 354 |
A higher proportion of mothers than of working women said they were not aware of any improvements. Those who answered “Yes” were asked: “What improvements have you noticed particularly?” (Question 9a.)
% of those saying they had heard of improvements.
(The percentages given add to more than 100 because some gave more than one answer).
Those mothers who said they thought conditions had improved mentioned between them rather more improvements than did the other groups. However, the difference in the frequencies with which different improvements were mentioned are only slight.
The proportions of the whole sample of mothers mentioning shorter hours and higher wages spontaneously in answer to this question were 18% and 19% respectively. (Working women 20% and 21%. Schoolgirls 28% and 22%).
All mothers with the exception of those who spontaneously mentioned the improvement in wages were asked: “Have you heard about the increased rate of pay recently introduced?” (Question 10a (i)).
The table below shows the proportions of the whole sample who had and had not heard about the increased rates of pay, those who had mentioned it spontaneously in answer to the previous question being included with the “Yes” answers.
| Mothers | Working Women | Secondary Schoolgirls | |
| % | % | % | |
| Yes, had heard of increased pay | 49 ± 5 | 44 | 67 |
| No, had not heard of it | 50 | 56 | 33 |
| Not answered | 1 | - | - |
| Sample: | 487 | 1,967 | 354 |
About the same proportion of mothers as of working women had heard of the increased rate of pay.
The same question was asked about the reduced working hours (Question 10a (ii)).
| Mothers | Working Women | Secondary Schoolgirls | |
| % | % | % | |
| Yes, had heard of reduced hours | 39 ± 4 | 33 | 46 |
| No, had not heard of them | 59 | 67 | 54 |
| Not answered | 2 | 1 | - |
| Sample: | 487 | 1,967 | 354 |
Again there is little difference between the replies received from mothers and from working women.
All those who had heard of any improvements in nurses’ working conditions, (those answering “Yes” to Questions 9, or saying that they had heard of the increased pay or reduced hours) were asked how they heard of these improvements (Questions 9b and 10b.) Replies were given as follows:
| Medium | % mothers who had heard of any improvements |
| Newspapers | 58 |
| Wireless | 32 |
| Friends in nursing profession | 12 |
| Other friends | 10 |
| Being in hospital, etc. | 3 |
| Other ways | 1 |
| Can’t remember | 3 |
| Sample: | 263 |
More than half those who had heard of improvements had read about them in newspapers. Wireless was mentioned as the source of information by about a third.
Those who had heard of improvements were asked: “What do you think about them?” (Question 9a and 9b.)
In comparing the mothers’ replies to this question with those of working women and schoolgirls it should be noted that only those working women and schoolgirls who said in the first place that they thought conditions had improved were asked, whereas those mothers who said later they had heard of the improved pay or working hours as well as those who said they thought conditions had improved in the first place, were asked.
About a quarter of the mothers asked thought that further improvements were needed.
WARTIME SOCIAL SURVEY
NURSING
New Series Regional H. 18
TO ALL
2. What are your ideas in general about the life and work of a nurse?
3. Considering nursing as a career for girls, what do you think are the main:
(a) Advantages or attractions? .........
(b) Disadvantages or drawbacks? .........
If Yes or Doubtful to (1)
4. What do you feel about your daughter becoming a nurse?
If Schoolgirl Yes or Doubtful to (1)
5. Is there anything which may make it difficult for her to take up nursing? What? .........
6. Do you know that a useful 1 - 2 year prenursing course can be taken at some secondary and technical schools now?
(If NO explain about course)
7. What do you think of that arrangement?
If Yes or Doubtful to (1) (any daughter)
8. These are the branches in which a girl can specialise
(a) which would you prefer your daughter to take up?
(b) Would you have any particular objection to her training in?
| (a) | (b) | |
| General | 1 | ......... |
| Children’s | 1 | ......... |
| T.B. | 1 | ......... |
| Fever | 1 | ......... |
| Mental | 1 | ......... |
| Midwifery | 1 | ......... |
| No preference | 1 | ......... |
9. Do you think nurses’ working conditions have improved at all during the last year or two?
Interviewer :
Town :
Date :