Influence of Emotional Intelligence and Empathy on the Facilitative Communication Ability of Psychiatric Nurses / 정신간호학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among emotional intelligence, empathy and facilitative communication ability of psychiatric nurses. METHODS: Participants were 173 conveniently selected psychiatric nurses from 10 hospitals in Korea. Data were collected from June to September, 2015 through self-reported questionnaires. RESULTS: Facilitative communication ability was significantly different depending on educational level (t=6.06, p=.003). There were significant positive correlations between emotional intelligence and facilitative communication ability (r=.61, p<.001), and also between empathy and facilitative communication ability (r=.63, p<.001). In the multiple regression, except for education level, emotional intelligence (β=.17, p=.003) and empathy (β=.21, p=.000) explained 38.2% of the variance in facilitative communication ability. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that emotional intelligence and empathy are important factors in psychiatric nurses' facilitative communication ability. Accordingly, to improve the facilitative communication ability of psychiatric nurses, educational programs based on development of emotional intelligence and empathy are necessary.