Justification of aggression against nurses: The effect of aggressor distress and nurse communication quality

To explore the conditions that contribute to justification of aggression against nurses.

A 2 (aggressor distress as reflected in stressful behaviour: high vs. low) × 2 (target nurse's communication quality as reflected in provision of information and expression of caring: high vs. low) factorial design. Communication quality was operationalized as caring for half the respondents and information provision for the other half.

Data were collected online in 2018. Respondents (N = 305) were presented with one of the eight versions of a hypothetical vignette. Aggressor distress and caring were manipulated for half the participants and aggressor distress and information provision for the other half. After reading the vignette, respondents reported their attitudes towards the aggressor's behaviour and sense of warmth towards the target nurse. Additional data collected included trait empathy (a control variable), demographic variables and responses to a manipulation check. Data were analysed using the analyses of variance.

The results show the main effects of aggressor distress and nurse communication quality on justification of aggression and sense of warmth towards the nurse. An interaction effect between aggressor distress and (poor) nurse information provision was found on justification of aggression.

The results extend extant research on the causes of aggression against the nurses by highlighting a tendency to view certain circumstances as justifying such behaviour.

The study explored conditions that increase the justification of aggression against nurses, from the perspective of a third party. The results show that aggressor's distress, as well as the attacked nurse's communication quality affect the justification of aggression. The results contribute to knowledge about the causes of aggression against nurses and highlight the need for healthcare policy and public education activities designed to undermine the view that aggression against nurses can be justified.