Interpersonal Trauma in the Lives of Nurses and Perceptions of Nursing Work

The purpose of this study was to explore associations between trauma experiences among nurses and nursing perceptions of risk for involuntary job loss and standing in society. This observational study used 2001 data from the Nurses' Health Study II (N = 53,323 female nurses). The outcome variables were nurses' perceptions of their risk for involuntary job loss and their social standing in the United States and within their own community. The exposure variables were childhood and adulthood interpersonal trauma. Nurses reported high levels of emotional (60% childhood; 44% adulthood), physical (45% childhood, 23% adulthood), and sexual trauma (15% childhood, 11% adulthood). Emotional trauma was associated with perception of higher risk for involuntary job loss, but also higher perception of nurse societal standing. Nurses experience high rates of interpersonal trauma, which may influence how they perceive their profession.