Relationships between social skills and self-esteem in nurses: a questionnaire study

Abstract

Background: Our study attempts to evaluate whether nurses' social skills are related to their self-concept and self-esteem.

Methods: A descriptive survey study was developed to 464 nurses who had worked for a minimum of one year in adult or pediatric services. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) and the Scale of Social Skills (SSS) by Gismero were used to measure nurses' self-esteem and social skills, respectively.

Results: Evaluation of self-esteem and social skills revealed no significant associations between sex and specific nursing speciality, (p > .05). Significant differences were observed based on the marital status for RSE and SSS Factor 1 (RSE, p = .013; SSS-F1, p = .033). Correlation and regression analyses demonstrated a significant correlation between nurse self-esteem and some social skills factors.

Conclusion: This study shows that there exists a relationship between higher self-esteem and self-concept among nurses and this issue can affect effective communication with patients.

Keywords:

• social skills
• nurses
• self-esteem

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the nurses from Principado de Asturias-Spain who participated in this study. The authors also extend their appreciation to the Official College of Nurses at the Principado de Asturias- Spain who provided the fellows and the assistance needed for this study to be undertaken.

ORCID

Marta Elena Losa-Iglesias http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7588-2069

Daniel López López http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9818-6290

Rocío Rodriguez Vazquez http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8367-2923

Ricardo Becerro de Bengoa-Vallejo http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1568-7602