Background: Psychiatric nurses often work in high-stress
environments where they are frequently exposed to various forms of
violence and aggression from patients. While the immediate physical consequences of violence are usually recognised, the psychological
impacts, such as feelings of entrapment, self-stigma
and diminished empathy, are less understood but equally critical.
Aims: This study aimed to fill this gap by examining how different forms of violence exposure affect entrapment, self-stigma
and
empathic care among psychiatric nurses, providing insights that can inform both practice and policy.
Design: This study utilised a descriptive correlational research design.
Method: This study was conducted in two prominent psychiatric hospitals in Egypt, namely the Mental Health Hospital and
Addiction in Benha City and Elmaamora for Psychiatric Medicine and Addiction in Alexandria. A convenience sample of 246 psychiatric
nurses who filled out the Perception of Prevalence Aggression Scale, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised,
the Empathetic
Care Scale, the Scale for Assessing the Stigma of Mental Illness in Nursing and the Entrapment Scale was used for the study. Data
collection spanned 3 months, from June to August 2024.
Findings: The findings reveal that perceived aggression is positively correlated with the impact of events (r = 0.513, p < 0.001)
and entrapment (r = 0.160, p = 0.012) and negatively correlated with empathy (r = −0.232, p < 0.001). The regression analyses
show that verbal aggression, threatening verbal aggression, aggressive splitting behaviour, severe self-directed
violence and
suicides are significant predictors of empathy, increasing its levels (R2 = 0.509, p < 0.001). Stigma is negatively influenced by
threatening verbal aggression, provocative aggressive behaviour, severe physical violence, mild violence against self and suicides
but positively by passive-aggressive
behaviour (R2 = 0.377, p < 0.001).
Conclusion: These results underscore the importance of addressing aggression in psychiatric settings to promote the well-being
and professional functioning of nurses.