Identifying Latent Profiles of Interpersonal Conflict Among Psychiatric Nurses and Exploring Their Associations With...

To explore the classification of interpersonal conflicts among psychiatric nurses and to compare the differences in psychological capital, sleep quality, and conflict coping styles among nurses with different conflict types.

From July to August 2024, a survey was conducted among all clinical nurses in 6 tertiary psychiatric hospitals in Shandong Province using the General Information Questionnaire, Workplace Interpersonal Conflict Scale (WICS), Psychological Capital Questionnaire-Revised (PCQ-R), Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Latent profile analysis was applied to explore the classification of interpersonal conflicts among psychiatric nurses. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to identify the influencing factors of nurses' conflict types.

The survey revealed that clinical psychiatric nurses could be divided into four types: low conflict-adaptive type, moderate-to-high conflict-clinical high-pressure type, moderate-to-high conflict-management contradiction type, and ultra-high conflict-omnidirectional high-pressure type. Age, married status, total score of psychological capital, total score of sleep quality, and negative coping style of psychiatric nurses had significant effects on their conflict types.

There is group heterogeneity in the conflict types of clinical psychiatric nurses. Poor sleep quality and negative coping styles increase the likelihood of belonging to higher-risk conflict profiles, while psychological capital may not always function as a protective factor in interpersonal interactions. These findings highlight the importance of adopting person-centered conflict management approaches for psychiatric nurses.

Nursing managers should pay more attention to nurses with moderate-high conflict and ultra-high conflict profiles. Measures such as improving the working environment, providing sufficient organizational support, and optimizing the scheduling system should be taken to reduce the incidence of interpersonal conflicts among psychiatric nurses. In addition, management should focus not only on enhancing psychological capital but also on fostering empathy and interpersonal collaboration skills to reduce conflict escalation and improve nursing care quality.