Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress in Psychiatric Nurses

Abstract

Purpose: This study was performed to identify the impact of aggressiveness of patients and a sense of coherence on posttraumatic stress in psychiatric nurses. Methods: After collecting data from 162 psychiatric nurses, we carried out a t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression using IBM SPSS Statistics 19.0. Results: The mean score of posttraumatic stress was 20.75±16.59 points. Verbal aggression, aggressiveness about property, aggression toward oneself, and aggression toward others had a positive correlation with posttraumatic stress, while a sense of coherence had a negative correlation with post-traumatic stress. It was concluded that the significant predictors of posttraumatic stress in psychiatric nurses were aggression toward oneself, a sense of coherence, and aggression toward others, all of which accounted for 38.9% of the variability. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the factors influencing posttraumatic stress in psychiatric nurses were aggression toward oneself, aggression toward others, and a sense of coherence. Therefore, education programs should be developed in consideration of the fact that aggressive behavior against the patient himself and against others intensify the posttraumatic stress of the psychiatric nurse, but the integration force mitigates it.