Emotional intelligence and personality characteristics of psychiatric nurses and their situations of exposure to violence

Purpose To examine the relationship between the emotional intelligence and sociotropic‐autonomic personality characteristics of nurses working in psychiatry clinics and their exposure to violence. Design and Methods In this study, 103 nurses working in a mental health community hospital in Turkey were surveyed. The research data were collected using the Emotional Intelligence Evaluation Scale, the Sociotropy‐Autonomy Scale, and the Personal Information Form. Findings A statistically significant relationship was determined between the “awareness of emotions” and the frequency of physical violence that was exposed; “management of emotions” and the number of psychological violence that was exposed; sociotropic personality characteristics; and the number of violent incidents. Practical Implications It may be advisable to include issues such as awareness and management of emotions, the importance of autonomous personality traits in violence prevention education programs.