JUNGIAN TYPOLOGY AND PERSISTENCE IN RESPIRATORY THERAPY (PSYCHOLOGICAL TYPE, JUNG, TYPE, ATTRITION)

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate the Jungian typology, a system of personality classification based on mental function, of three groups of respiratory therapy practitioners--clinicians, managers, and educators. Specifically, the study examined the relationship between Jungian typology and the persistence of the individuals in the three groups. Because little data exist concerning the Jungian typology of respiratory therapy practitioners, it would be beneficial to not only have basic typology data but also data relating typology to persistence.;Procedure. Utilizing the entire population of respiratory therapy practitioners in the Missouri Society for Respiratory Therapy (N = 479), the three groups that were used were all respiratory therapy professionals: clinicians (N = 80), managers (N = 74), educators (N = 29).;The instruments used in this study were the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and a persistence questionnaire. The MBTI is a 166 item personality indicator that is designed to elicit preferences in four Jungian dimensions--extravert/introvert, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, and judging/perception. The persistence questionnaire is a six item instrument designed to elicit information about the type of job the professional was in as well as how long he/she had been in that job.;The results were analyzed by using multivariate analysis of variance, analysis of variance, least squares means, and the self selection index.;Attrition is a problem in the respiratory therapy profession. By using the Jungian typology of respiratory therapy professionals and data about persistence, the problem of attrition in respiratory therapy can be logically approached.;Findings. The results of this study indicated that Jungian typology differences do exist between persistors in the respiratory therapy profession, especially clinicians and managers. The dimension that differed the most was the thinking/feeling dimension.;Conclusions. Because attrition and persistence are important in the respiratory therapy profession, Jungian typology can play an important role in aiding respiratory therapy professionals understand their type and its relationship to persistence in the profession. In addition, it can be beneficial in academic or job-related advisement.