Relationship Among Personality Traits, Intensity of Stress, and Yang-Xu Body Constitution in Adult ICU Nurses

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship among personality traits, the intensity of stress, and Yang-Xu body constitution among adult intensive care unit (ICU) nurses.

Methods:  A cross-sectional survey was conducted and 202 adult ICU nurses were recruited from four hospitals in central Taiwan.  A questionnaire with good reliability and validity was used. The questionnaire includes the Chinese version of Eysenck personality traits Questionnaire-Revised Short Scale (CEPQ-RS), the intensity of stress, the Yang-Xu body constitution Questionnaire (BCQ+),and demographic data.  The internal consistency values of the personality traits, intensity of stress, and Yang-Xu constitution scales were 0.77-0.78, 0.93, and 0.93 using Cronbach’s α coefficient. The BCQ+ questionnaire aims to assess the energy level of bodily functions.

Results:  All data were statistical analyzed using the SPSS 19.0 statistical software.  The mean age of the 202 participants was 27.82±4.87. Approximate half (52.2%) of the ICU nurses reported a working duration of less than 6 years.  The average score of Yang-Xu constitution was 42.09, with 151 participants (74.8%) being higher than cutoff score of 30.5.  We applied a structural equation model to the relationship among Yang-Xu constitution and the variables of interest. Results showed the intensity of stress in adult ICU nurses being negatively correlated with extraversion and positively with neuroticism. Yang-Xu Body constitution was found to be positively correlated with intensity of stress. We found the intensity of stress to mediate or partially mediate the association between extraversion, neuroticism, and Yang-Xu body constitution in adult ICU nurses. 

Conclusion:  A high intensity of stress in adult ICU nurses was significantly correlated with personality traits and consequently significantly resulted in the Yang-Xu body constitution. The results suggest that nursing managers can screen the personality traits of nurses before enrolling adult ICU nurses. It is also recommended that stress-adaptation and health promote education courses be provided to adult ICU nurses as a preventive measure for Yang-Xu body constitution.