The Creation and Validation of Active Cooperative Behavior Scales for Nurses

General conflict management instruments are employed in healthcare settings despite their lack of focus on active and cooperative behaviors which are linked to positive outcomes. The purpose of this study is to create and validate active cooperative behavior scales for nurses.

Two convenience samples were collected via an online panel and a public registry of nurses to create and validate the new scales using factor analysis, and hierarchical regression in a nursing/healthcare sample.

The newly created active cooperative behavior scales (ACBS) showed acceptable internal consistency and explained more variance on job satisfaction than a commonly used compromising subscale.

The ACBS can assist currently practicing nurses and hospitals in identifying easily implementable behaviors, active listening, appropriate assertiveness, and brainstorming, that lead to effective conflict management.