Fundamentals of Nursing Q 346
The dominant value orientation in North American society is:
A. Use of rituals symbolizing the supernatural.
B. Group reliance and interdependence.
C. Healing emphasizing naturalistic modalities.
D. Individualism and self-reliance in achieving and maintaining health.
Correct Answer: D. Individualism and self-reliance in achieving and maintaining health.
The most important thing to understand about US Americans is probably their devotion to “individualism.” They have been trained from early in their lives to consider themselves separate individuals who are responsible for their own situations in life and their own destinies. They have not been trained to see themselves as members of a close-knit, tightly interdependent family, religious group, tribe, nation, or other groups.
Option A: US Americans are generally less concerned about history and tradition than are people from older societies. They look ahead. They have the idea that what happens in the future is within their control, or at least subject to their influences. They believe that people, as individuals or working cooperatively together, can change most aspects of the physical and social environment if they decide things to do and a schedule for doing them.
Option B: Americans have not been trained to see themselves as members of a close-knit, tightly interdependent family, religious group, tribe, nation, or other groups. People who grow up in a particular culture share certain values and assumptions. This means that most of them, most of the time, agree with each others’ ideas about what is right and wrong, desirable and undesirable.
Option C: Cultural, social, and family influences shape attitudes and beliefs and therefore influence health literacy. Social determinants of health are well documented regarding the conditions over which the individual has little or no control but that affect his or her ability to participate fully in a health-literate society.