Associate degree nursing students: nonintellective differences between dropouts and graduates.

A comprehensive battery of tests designed primarily to measure nonintellective characteristics was administered to 112 students entering five associate degree nursing programs. At the end of two years, analyses of the entrance data revealed significant differences between the 73 graduates (those who completed the program on schedule) and the 32 nongraduates (those who dropped our of the program for various reasons). Seven students who remained in the programs but who had not completed the requirements were not included in the analyses. The data indicated that at the time of entry into their programs, those students who later completed the program on schedule were more mature--older and married, more achievement oriented, responsible, and self-controlled than dropouts. Successful students also manifested more accepting and nonjudgmental attitudes toward other people.