J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2026 Aug 12. doi: 10.1111/jpm.70187. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Workplace stress is prevalent in psychiatric nursing, with compassion fatigue significantly challenging nurses’ well-being and care quality. Effective prevention requires identifying at-risk nurses using validated assessment frameworks. The contemporary approach to workforce mental health emphasises proactive, targeted interventions tailored to individual risk profiles. Nurses play a central role in sustaining therapeutic environments, and their psychological resources are critical to this process. However, the heterogeneity of compassion fatigue among psychiatric nurses remains underexplored.
AIM: To empirically identify distinct subtypes of compassion fatigue among psychiatric nurses and examine their key predictors: METHODS: Using convenience sampling, 297 psychiatric nurses were selected from five Chinese hospitals to participate in a cross-sectional online survey. Measures of sociodemographic traits, occupational stress, social support, psychological resilience, coping methods, and compassion fatigue (as measured by the Professional Quality of Life Scale) were all filled out by the participants. Standardised scores for burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction were used as indicators in latent profile analysis. To find the ideal number of profiles, model fit indices such as the Lo-Mendell-Rubin likelihood ratio test, entropy, Bayesian information criterion, and Akaike information criterion were compared. Subsequent multivariate logistic regression examined predictors of profile membership. Data analysis was conducted using statistical methods, and the STROBE guideline was followed in reporting.
RESULTS: Three distinct compassion fatigue profiles were identified among psychiatric nurses: Mild Fatigue-Traumatic Stress (18.5%, n = 55), Moderate Fatigue-Low Burnout (64.0%, n = 190), and Severe Fatigue (17.5%, n = 52). Multivariate logistic regression revealed that older age, higher work stress, and greater use of negative coping were significant risk factors for more severe profiles, whereas not working night shifts, higher social support, greater positive coping, and higher psychological resilience were associated with reduced risk. The Severe Fatigue group exhibited the most adverse profile-highest work stress, lowest resilience and support, and greatest reliance on negative coping. Conversely, the group with the highest levels of resilience and social support was Mild Fatigue-Traumatic Stress.
CONCLUSION: There are different subgroups of psychiatric nurses who feel compassion fatigue, each with unique risk and protective characteristics. These results highlight the necessity of profile-specific, focused treatments that address organisational and personal issues. Early career nurses and those working night shifts may benefit from priority support to mitigate occupational psychological burden and enhance workforce well-being.
PMID:42590873 | DOI:10.1111/jpm.70187
