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Exposure of mental health nurses to violence associated with job stress, life satisfaction, staff resilience, and post‐traumatic growth
Author(s) -
Itzhaki Michal,
PelesBortz Anat,
Kostistky Hava,
Barnoy Dor,
Filshtinsky Vivian,
Bluvstein Irit
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.12151
Subject(s) - mental health , job satisfaction , psychological resilience , life satisfaction , psychology , clinical psychology , occupational safety and health , suicide prevention , workplace violence , medicine , nursing , poison control , psychiatry , medical emergency , social psychology , pathology
Workplace violence towards health workers in hospitals and in mental health units in particular is increasing. The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of exposure to violence, job stress, staff resilience, and post‐traumatic growth ( PTG ) on the life satisfaction of mental health nurses. A descriptive, cross‐sectional design was used. The sample consisted of mental health nurses ( n = 118) working in a large mental health centre in I srael. Verbal violence by patients was reported by 88.1% of the nurses, and 58.4% experienced physical violence in the past year. Physical and verbal violence towards nurses was correlated with job stress, and life satisfaction was correlated with PTG and staff resilience. Linear regression analyses indicated that life satisfaction was mainly affected by PTG , staff resilience, and job stress, and less by exposure to verbal and physical violence. The present study is the first to show that, although mental health nurses are frequently exposed to violence, their life satisfaction is affected more by staff resilience, PTG , and job stress than by workplace violence. Therefore, it is recommended that intervention programmes that contribute to PTG and staff resilience, as well as those that reduce job stress among mental health nurses, be explored and implemented.