The relationship between secondary traumatic stress and secondary posttraumatic growth in clinical nurses: a cross-sectional study based on latent profile analysis.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to identify the latent profiles of secondary traumatic stress-secondary posttraumatic growth (STS-SPTG) among clinical nurses and explore factors associated with profile membership.

METHODS

A convenience sampling method was used to recruit clinical nurses from a provincial tertiary Grade A hospital in Anhui Province between June and August 2024. Data were collected using the general information questionnaire, the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale, the Secondary Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, the 10-item Big Five Inventory, and the Social Support Rating Scale. Latent profile analysis was performed to identify distinct STS-SPTG profiles among clinical nurses, and multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to explore factors associated with profile membership.

RESULTS

A total of 496 valid questionnaires were collected. Three latent profiles of STS-SPTG were identified among clinical nurses: the low-response profile (34.3%), the high-risk profile (42.3%), and the positive-growth profile (23.4%). Self-rated health status, job satisfaction, perceived job burnout, administrative position, personality traits, and social support were associated with latent profile membership among clinical nurses (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Clinical nurses exhibited substantial heterogeneity in STS-SPTG patterns. The identified profiles and associated factors may provide preliminary evidence for early identification and stratified supportive approaches for nurses with different psychological response patterns. However, associations involving personality traits should be interpreted cautiously and require further validation in future studies.