Modeling and Role Modeling, a theory developed by the nursing theorists Helen C. Erickson, Evelyn M. Tomlin, and Mary Ann P. Swain. Their book, Modeling and Role Modeling: A Theory and Paradigm for Nursing, was published in 1983. From a synthesis of multiple concepts related to basic needs, developmental tasks, object attachment, and adaptive coping potential, they developed their highly abstract role-modeling theory. The term modeling refers to the development of an understanding of the client’s world. Role modeling is the nursing intervention, or nurturance, that requires unconditional acceptance. Erickson, Tomlin, and Swain believe that, although people are alike because of their holism (multiple interacting subsystems), lifetime growth, and development, they are also different because of inherent endowment, adaptation, and self-care knowledge. Role modeling provides a framework for understanding the ways clients structure their worlds. Erickson, Tomlin, and Swain view nursing as a self-care model based on the client’s perception of the world and adaptations to stressors.
