Effects of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue on posttraumatic growth of psychiatric nurses: A cross-sectional study

AimsThis study aimed to explore the effects of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue on the posttraumatic growth of psychiatric nurses.BackgroundPsychiatric nurses' prolonged and repeated exposure to trauma and complex situations in the work environment can lead to negative emotions such as compassion fatigue, but they also experience positive consequences such as posttraumatic growth, and the relationship between compassion fatigue and posttraumatic growth is not unclear.MethodsA total of 336 nurses from psychiatry departments of seven tertiary hospitals in Sichuan Province, China, were administered an online questionnaire. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling. The posttraumatic growth level was measured with the Simplified Chinese version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. The Professional Quality of Life Scale-Chinese version was used to assess compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary traumatic stress. T-test and one-way variance analysis, Pearson correlation analysis and hierarchical linear regression were used for data analysis. A STROBE checklist was used to guide the reporting of the research.ResultsPsychiatric nurses' posttraumatic growth is at a low level, influenced by demographic and occupational factors, whereas compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary traumatic stress are at a moderate level. Hierarchical regression analysis suggested that compassion satisfaction and secondary traumatic stress had a positive impact on posttraumatic growth, whereas burnout had a negative impact on posttraumatic growth.ConclusionsFindings suggest that nursing managers should attach importance to the mental health of psychiatric nurses, improve compassion satisfaction, alleviate burnout and promote posttraumatic growth. What is already known about this topic?Psychiatric patients generally have complex and special conditions, which makes psychiatric nursing work high-risk and stressful, which often poses significant challenges for psychiatric nurses, such as compassion fatigue.There is a correlation between compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue and posttraumatic growth among nurses.What this paper adds?Psychiatric nurses have low levels of posttraumatic growth and moderate levels of compassionate satisfaction, burnout and secondary traumatic stress, and posttraumatic growth is influenced by sleep hours per day, marital status, children and job satisfaction.Compassion satisfaction and secondary traumatic stress have a positive impact on posttraumatic growth of psychiatric nurses, whereas burnout has a negative impact on posttraumatic growth of psychiatric nurses.The implications of this paper:This study emphasizes that policy makers should clarify the relationship between posttraumatic growth, compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue as soon as possible to support the rapid growth of psychiatric nurses in nursing work.This study provides a basis for nursing managers to explore and implement interventions to improve compassion satisfaction among psychiatric nurses, reduce burnout and promote personal psychological growth.