{"title":"Mediating Role of Empathy Between Self-Compassion and Secondary Traumatic Stress in Nurses.","authors":"Hanieh Poursheikhali, Shabnam Hashemzadeh Mohammadieh, Shekoofeh Mottaghi","doi":"10.1097/JFN.0000000000000594","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>To investigate the mediating role of empathy in the relationship between self-compassion and secondary traumatic stress (STS) among nurses.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A descriptive correlational design was used. Data were collected from 300 nurses in five hospitals in Kerman, Iran, using validated scales measuring self-compassion, empathy, and STS.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Structural equation modeling revealed significant negative correlations between self-compassion and STS ( r =-.23, p <0.001) and between empathy and STS ( r =-.37, p <0.001). Self-compassion was positively associated with empathy ( r =.41, p <0.001). Empathy partially mediated the self-compassion-STS relationship, with an indirect effect of -0.15 ( p <0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Self-compassion reduces STS both directly and indirectly by enhancing empathy. Results suggest fostering self-compassion and empathy in nursing education and practice to build resilience and reduce STS risk among health care professionals.</p>","PeriodicalId":94079,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic nursing","volume":" ","pages":"E220-E227"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9000,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of forensic nursing","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1097/JFN.0000000000000594","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/2/25 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Aim: To investigate the mediating role of empathy in the relationship between self-compassion and secondary traumatic stress (STS) among nurses.
Methods: A descriptive correlational design was used. Data were collected from 300 nurses in five hospitals in Kerman, Iran, using validated scales measuring self-compassion, empathy, and STS.
Results: Structural equation modeling revealed significant negative correlations between self-compassion and STS ( r =-.23, p <0.001) and between empathy and STS ( r =-.37, p <0.001). Self-compassion was positively associated with empathy ( r =.41, p <0.001). Empathy partially mediated the self-compassion-STS relationship, with an indirect effect of -0.15 ( p <0.05).
Conclusion: Self-compassion reduces STS both directly and indirectly by enhancing empathy. Results suggest fostering self-compassion and empathy in nursing education and practice to build resilience and reduce STS risk among health care professionals.
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