A STUDY OF THE MEANINGS ASSIGNED TO THE TERM PSYCHOSOMATIC AMONG HEALTH-PROFESSIONALS

PROBLEM: Noting that many nurses tend to hold a narrow view of the ter m ''psychosomatic,'' the authors explored the meanings assigned to the term psychosomatic among registered nurses (N = 189) employed in a va riety of settings. METHODS: The Psychosomatic Attitude Scale (PAS) was used to categorize the meaning of psychosomatic as either imaginary, functional, structural, or holistic. FINDINGS: Although nurses theoret ically espouse a holistic approach to client care, only 46% of the nur ses sampled gave a holistic interpretation of the term psychosomatic. A holistic interpretation was more common among nurses who had an inte rnal health locus of control and who were extroverted and intuitive in their personality profile. Further, nurses with a higher level of edu cation and who practiced in maternity or psychiatric settings were mor e holistic in their understanding of the term psychosomatic. CONCLUSIO NS: The authors advocate further study of how beliefs, values, and per sonality traits interact to influence the nurse's interpretation of th e term ''psychosomatic.''