A Pediatric Nurse, Who Has Worked on the Inpatient Unit

A pediatric nurse, who has worked on the inpatient unit for 7 years, is enrolled in a master's program. The nurse notes that children who are homeless and who are admitted to the inpatient setting seem to have longer lengths of hospital stay, appear to have poorer verbal skills, and seem to be more fearful of separation from their parents. The nurse designs a study to measure these variables in homeless children, and to compare the findings with the average patients on the same unit. What is the research hypothesis?

A) Longer length of hospital stay, worse verbal skills, and fear of separation from parents are caused by children's homelessness.
B) Homelessness in children is related to length of hospital stay, verbal skills, and fear of separation from parents.
C) There is no relationship between children's homelessness and length of hospital stay, verbal skills, and fear of separation from parents.
D) If a homeless child has a longer hospital stay, that child is likely to have poor verbal skills and more difficulty separating from parents.