Relationship between Recovery Attitudes and Ethical Behaviors of Psychiatric Nurses

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between ethical behaviors and recovery attitudes of psychiatric nurses. Psychiatric nurses were given a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 1) questions on basic attributes, 2) a scale measuring ethical behavior of psychiatric nurses and 3) the Recovery Attitudes Questionnaire (RAQ-7). A total of 187 responses were obtained.

Based on the average total scores of the participants on RAQ-7, they were divided into two groups: the low-scoring group consisted of 76 nurses (40.6%) and the high-scoring group consisted of 111 nurses (59.4%). When the two groups were compared on each type of behavior on the ethical behavior measurement scale, significant differences were found in the “addressing needs” and “expressing respect and appreciation” behaviors as well as in the total score. After performing a logistic regression analysis using the total RAQ-7 score as the dependent variable, the “addressing needs” behavior was found to be related to recovery attitudes (OR = 1.593). This indicates that an attitude of trying to understand the patients themselves, being sensitive to their needs, and responding to them enhances recovery attitudes.