What is the Relationship Between and Among Various Indicators of the Quality of Life of Nurses and their Self-Actualizing Process?
Emily Egbert

Stress has become an important theme in nursing and other literature with much emphasis on the possibility of burnout if stress is not adequately and appropriately managed. Literature has also indicated that illness is a probable negative response to stress. The possibilities of growth enhancement as a response to stress had not been explored before. This study explored the relationship between and among stress and crisis experiences, job satisfaction, coping strategies, support systems, loneliness, spiritual well-being, and the self-actualizing process in nurses.

A questionnaire and a published test were used to gather data from 271 nurses who volunteered to participate in the study. The nurses were employed in seven hospitals in the central Kentucky area. They included both staff and administration; each of the three shifts were represented in the sample. The questionnaire included tools to assess: (1) level of stress experienced in recent life changes, (2) coping strategies, (3) job satisfaction, (4) support system, (5) loneliness, and (6) spiritual well-being. The published test was the Personal Orientation Dimensions which measures attitudes and values in terms of the self-actualizing process.

Five of the six indicators of the quality of life of nurses considered in this study demonstrated a significant positive correlation with the POD scores. Each of the indicators had a significant correlation with at least four other indicators. Because of the significant relationships between and among the variables of this study, it was concluded that they all are important aspects of the quality of life of nurses and contribute to the personal growth of nurses in their self-actualizing process. This had implications for the educators of nursing students, the agencies which employ nurses, and the individual nurse.

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