A study of empathy and interpersonal responsiveness among psychiatric nurses and nursing student interns.

Abstract

he objective of our research was to investigate the empathy and selected interpersonal reactivity of psychiatric nurses and undergraduate nursing students and to examine whether the gender factor could influence psychiatric nurses' empathy. 140 subjects participated in our study. They were divided into two groups: psychiatric nurses (n = 70) working in the psychiatry departments and undergraduate nursing students (n = 70) in their 3rd year of a bachelor's degree in nursing sciences who have completed their internship in psychiatry. They all responded to a preliminary questionnaire, the Scale of Nurse Perception of Own Empathy (SNPOE), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE). Results indicated that the majority of participants believe that the nursing role is important in psychiatry, and almost the majority of them possess certain knowledge about the meaning of empathy in a therapeutic relationship. In terms of the nurse's perception of their own empathy, there was no significant difference between the two groups. In terms of cognitive empathy, psychiatric nurses presented a significantly higher average on empathic concern than undergraduate nursing students. There is no significant difference in the other subscales. In terms of affective empathy, undergraduate nursing students had a significantly higher average on the proximal responsivity than psychiatric nurses. There was no significant difference in the other subscales. Among psychiatric nurses, female psychiatric nurses outperformed male psychiatric nurses in empathy and interpersonal reactivity. The study was able to highlight the importance of interpersonal reactivity and empathy within the therapeutic relationship in psychiatry. It is important to know that the mental health nursing profession deserves all its legitimacy and needs to be more developed in terms of training and education