Relationships of Empathy Among Nurses Working at Teaching Hospitals With the Patterns of Parental Rearing

Objectives: The development of effective connections between nurses and parents depends heavily on nurses’ empathy. Parenting strategies and attitudes have an impact on the emotional connection between parents and children in a variety of scenarios. Accordingly, this descriptive correlation study evaluates the level of empathy and investigates the relationship between parenting styles and the empathy of nurses.  Methods: A purposive (non-probability) sample of ۱۸۰ nurses was recruited in the current study and selected from four teaching hospitals in Kerbala City, Iraq, according to specific criteria. A pilot study was used to assess the questionnaire’s reliability, and a panel of (۱۷) experts was used to determine the questionnaire’s content validity. The data were collected through interviews using two scales, namely the parental authority questionnaire, and the Jefferson scale of empathy physician/health professions. The data were investigated and interpreted using the SPSS software, version ۲۲. Numbers and percentages were used to illustrate the quantitative qualities. The Spearmen coefficient was applied to evaluate the relationships between the study variables. The significance level was considered a P=۰.۰۵. Results: Nurses have a low level of empathy. There are significant correlations between the father’s and mother’s parenting styles (authoritative, permissive, and authoritarian dimensions) and empathy. In addition, there is a substantial association between nurses’ empathy and job desire.  Discussion: Nurse empathy is vital for building strong connections with parents. Parenting styles affect the parent-child emotional bond in various situations. The study on parental rearing patterns and empathy among nurses at teaching hospitals revealed that nurses who have low empathy levels and parenting styles significantly relate to empathy. Nurses’ empathy also impacts their job satisfaction. The study recommends adopting the authoritative parenting style to enhance empathy. Awareness programs through various media should educate parents about positive and negative parenting styles and their effects on children’s futures. By promoting empathy and supportive parenting, parents can nurture empathetic and well-adjusted individuals. The parenting style of both fathers and mothers is associated with empathy among nurses, and job desire may be an important factor that is related to nurses’ empathy.

Keywords:

Parenting styles , Empathy , Nurse