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Towards a model for understanding the development of post‐traumatic stress and general distress in mental health nurses
Author(s) -
Lee Joyce,
Daffern Michael,
Ogloff James R. P.,
Martin Trish
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of mental health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.911
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1447-0349
pISSN - 1445-8330
DOI - 10.1111/inm.12097
Subject(s) - mental health , aggression , traumatic stress , mainstream , distress , psychiatry , clinical psychology , medicine , psychology , occupational safety and health , general health questionnaire , philosophy , theology , pathology
In their daily work, mental health nurses (MHN) are often exposed to stressful events, including patient‐perpetrated aggression and violence. Personal safety and health concerns, as well as concern for the physical and psychological well‐being of patients, dominate; these concerns have a profound impact on nurses. This cross‐sectional study explored and compared the psychological well‐being of 196 hospital‐based MHN (97 forensic and 99 mainstream registered psychiatric nurses or psychiatric state enrolled nurses). The aim was to examine exposure to inpatient aggression and work stress, and identify factors contributing to the development of post‐traumatic stress reactions and general distress. Multiple regression analyses indicated that working in a mainstream setting is associated with increased work stress; however, mainstream and forensic nurses experienced similar psychological well‐being. As a group, 14–17% of mainstream and forensic nurses met the diagnostic criteria for post‐traumatic stress disorder, and 36% scored above the threshold for psychiatric caseness. A tentative model of post‐traumatic stress and general distress in nurses was developed, illustrating the impact of aggression and stress on well‐being. The present study affirms that mental health nursing is a challenging and stressful occupation. Implications for organizations, managers, and individual nurses are discussed.