Study on alexithymia and perceived stress in nursing staff / 中国实用护理杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate alexithymia and perceived stress in nursing staff.Methods Nurses who were 18 to 45 years old were selected with clustered sampling method and finished the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).Results TAS total sore ranged from 25 to 84.The incidence of critical state group and alexithymia group was respectively 38.5％ and 26.0％.There was no significant difference of alexithymia in nursing staff with different ages,education background and marital status.The total score of TAS-20 was significantly higher in general nurses than in nursing cadres,and the score of alexithymia factor was significantly higher in senior nurses than in junior nurses and in-charge nurses.The perceived stress was rising in non-alexithymia group,the critical state group and alexithymia group and the scores had significant difference.Conclusions There is a high incidence of alexithymia in nursing staff and more stress is perceived in nursing staff with alxithymia.More attention should be paid to and more psychological intervention should be given to younger nurses.