Some determinants of stress in psychiatric nurses

This paper reports the results of an empirical study of psychological stress in nurses employed in a large Special Hospital and caring for mentally disturbed patients who may be a danger to themselves or to others. Such an environment would appear to be dangerous and stressful and the findings of this study show that this sample of nurses do indeed report relatively high levels of stress when compared to some other employed samples. Relationships between psychological distress, anxiety and depression and aspects of their jobs, such as job demands, supports and constraints, are discussed. Individual differences in experiences of stress are also considered.