Does a Relationship Exist Between the Type of Initial Violation and Recidivism?

This research study used a retrospective quantitative descriptive correlation design to determine if a relationship exists between the type of violation for which a nurse was initially disciplined by the Arizona Board of Nursing (BON) and recidivism. The hypothesis of the study stated that such relationships exist. The researcher examined the BON's discipline data bank for the years 2002 through 2012 to find specific violations that were likely to lead to multiple disciplinary actions. Based on this examination, the researcher chose the five categories of violations that were most likely to be associated with recidivism. The point-biserial correlation (rpb) was computed to identify if any significant linear relationship existed between categories of violations and repeated disciplines and revealed no statistically significant relationship. Thus, the study concludes that the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. Future research is recommended to identify specific initial violations that may have a relationship with recidivism, rather than descriptive categories of initial violations that may have such a relationship.