Temperament and professional quality of life among Japanese nurses

Aim: To investigate associations between temperament and professional quality of life among Japanese nurses.

Design: A descriptive-correlational study using self-administered anonymous questionnaires.

Methods: Questionnaires were collected from 1,267 nurses. We used analysis of covariance to examine associations between tendencies of temperament (depressive, cyclothymic, hyperthymic, irritable and anxious) and professional quality of life subscales (compassion satisfaction, burnout, compassion fatigue) first for all participants and then again after dividing the participants into two groups based on years of experience.

Results: Nurses' professional quality of life was associated with innate temperament and years of experience. Nurses with any of depressive, cyclothymic, irritable, or anxious tendencies showed significantly lower compassion satisfaction and higher burnout and compassion fatigue than those without these tendencies. Nurses with hyperthymic tendencies showed significantly higher compassion satisfaction and lower burnout than those without the tendency.