Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the correlations among the three constituents of the Naito scale (1991) ; students' attitudes in understanding patients, in awareness of themselves, and in understanding the relationships with patients. It was projected that students would achieve deeper understanding in all three areas and thus improve their performance in psychiatric nursing. We analyzed the data from 80 students, who had carried out their self-evaluation weekly for three weeks, using the scale. The analysis showed that : 1) there was a high correlation between the attitude of understanding patients and that of understanding the relationships from the first week onward ; 2) a high correlation between the attitude of understanding the relationships and that of being aware of themselves was observed only in the third week ; while 3) the correlation between understanding of patients and awareness of themselves was weak throughout the three weeks. Possible reasons for these correlations are discussed in order to share our findings about psychiatric nursing practice pedagogy.
