Personality, stress and coping in intensive care nurses: a descriptive exploratory study.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Occupational Health
• Psychology

Background:

• Intensive care units (ICUs) are recognized as highly stressful work environments.
• While causes of stress and coping mechanisms are studied, the role of personality traits in ICU nurses' stress perception and coping remains under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between personality traits, perceived workplace stress, and coping strategies among ICU nurses.

Main Methods:

• A sample of 46 critical care nurses completed standardized questionnaires.
• Instruments included the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R), the Nurses' Stress Scale (NSI), and the Brief Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced (COPE) scale.

Main Results:

• ICU nurses reported low levels of perceived workplace stress.
• Specific traits like openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness correlated with problem-solving coping strategies.
• Openness and extraversion were linked to lower stress from patient/relative interactions, while conscientiousness related to lower stress from workload and competence concerns.

Conclusions:

• Personality traits may mitigate workplace stress for ICU nurses.
• Pre-employment screening for personality and coping traits associated with low stress could enhance recruitment and retention strategies.
• Recruiting staff with lower perceived stress and problem-focused coping may decrease absences and critical incidents.