Relationships between social skills and self-esteem in nurses: a questionnaire study

BACKGROUND: Our study attempts to evaluate whether nurses' social skills are related to their self-concept and self-esteem. METHODS: A descriptive survey study was developed to 464 nurses who had worked for a minimum of one year in adult or pediatric services. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) and the Scale of Social Skills (SSS) by Gismero were used to measure nurses' self-esteem and social skills, respectively. RESULTS: Evaluation of self-esteem and social skills revealed no significant associations between sex and specific nursing speciality, (p > .05). Significant differences were observed based on the marital status for RSE and SSS Factor 1 (RSE, p = .013; SSS-F1, p = .033). Correlation and regression analyses demonstrated a significant correlation between nurse self-esteem and some social skills factors. CONCLUSION: This study shows that there exists a relationship between higher self-esteem and self-concept among nurses and this issue can affect effective communication with patients.