Leadership Empowerment Behavior and Psychiatric Nurses’ Intent to Leave

Abstract

There is a shortage of registered nurses (RNs) who work in the specialty of Psychiatric-Mental Health (PMH). Attrition among Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses (PMHNs) may be related to a lack of leadership empowerment which includes autonomy and access to professional development opportunities. The purposes of this study, guided by Kanter’s theory of structural empowerment, were to determine (a) if there was a relationship between leadership empowerment behavior and PMH RNs’ intent to leave within the first 2 years of practice in inpatient psychiatric settings and (b) if there was a relationship between leadership empowerment behavior and intent to leave among this population who are in their first 2 years of practice, based on RN demographics. The key variables were measured with the Leader Empowering Behavior Questionnaire and the Turnover Intention Scale. The study participants included 111 psychiatric RNs in their first 2 years of practice who were recruited via social media. Results showed an inverse relationship between leadership empowerment behavior and intent to leave. The RN demographic characteristics did not affect this relationship. The study findings could be used for social change by creating awareness for PMHN leaders to develop empowerment behavior as a strategy to mitigate new PMH RN turnover so that they can stay in practice and positively impact therapeutic and quality patient care delivery. Future studies using mixed methods and a larger sample size would be helpful to obtain an in-depth understanding of the role of leadership empowerment behavior and retention from the RN’s perspective.