Effects of Emotional Labor and Occupational Stress on Somatization in Nurses

Purpose: This study was done to identify the relationship of occupational stress, emotional labor, and general characteristics to somatization, and to identify factors affecting somatization in nurses. Methods: A quantitative, descriptive research design was used to study 227 nurses. Nurses completed a 52-item self-questionnaire that included 3 concepts assessing somatization, occupational stress, emotional labor. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple regression. Results: Mean scales for somatization, occupational stress, and emotional labor were , , respectively. The explained variance for somatization was 35.5%. Among the variables, frequency of emotional display (=.136, p=.042), one of the sub-domains of emotional labor, and role overload (=.178, p=.023), one of the sub-domains of occupational stress and working in the ICU, OR, or ER (=.296, p=.143, p=.028) significantly predicted degree of somatization. Conclusion: Findings of this study provide a comprehensive understanding of somatization and related factors for nurses in Korea.