Clinical nurse study links professional dignity with caring behavior scores

A cross-sectional study of 200 clinical nurses found that professional dignity was positively associated with caring-behavior scores, while suicidal ideation showed weak negative correlations with both caring behaviors and professional dignity. The research, summarized in the article abstract, also identified work history as positively associated with caring behaviors in the final multiple linear regression model. These results describe statistical relationships in the sampled nurses and do not establish that any factor caused changes in another.

Participants were recruited through convenience sampling and completed a demographic questionnaire, the Perceived Clinical Nurses’ Professional Dignity Scale, the Caring Dimensions Inventory-23, and the Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation. The mean age of participants was 33.59 ± 9.72 years, and their mean work experience was 9.15 ± 8.57 years. Mean scores were 103.95 ± 11.74 for caring behaviors, 72.94 ± 15.03 for professional dignity, and 2.13 ± 5.54 for suicidal ideation. Analyses were conducted in SPSS version 26 using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression. Because suicidal-ideation scores were right-skewed, the abstract reports that Spearman rank correlation was used for relationships involving suicidal ideation.

Professional dignity had a significant positive correlation with caring behaviors (r = 0.268, p < 0.001). Suicidal ideation was weakly negatively correlated with caring behaviors (ρ = −0.162, p = 0.022) and with professional dignity (ρ = −0.163, p = 0.021). In the final regression model, professional dignity and work history remained significantly positively associated with caring-behavior scores. After adjustment, each one-unit increase in professional dignity was associated with a 0.173-unit increase in the caring-behaviors score, while each one-unit increase in work history was associated with a 0.331-unit increase. The reported regression estimates therefore describe adjusted associations, not causal effects or prospective predictions.

The study examined a sample of clinical nurses at one point in time. Convenience sampling may limit how broadly the results can be generalized, and the cross-sectional design cannot determine the temporal order of the measured relationships. The authors’ abstract states that longitudinal and interventional studies are needed to clarify whether the associations are temporal or potentially causal. Accordingly, the findings support further investigation of professional dignity and work experience in relation to caring behaviors, but they do not show that changing either factor would necessarily alter nurses’ caring behavior or suicidal ideation.

Subject of Research: Associations of professional dignity, work history, caring behaviors, and suicidal ideation among 200 clinical nurses

Article Title: The relationship between caring behaviors, professional dignity, and suicidal ideation among clinical nurses: a cross-sectional study

Article References: Moslemi, F., Anbarestani, K., Kordi, Z., Tahanian, Z., & Abbasi, A. (2026). The relationship between caring behaviors, professional dignity, and suicidal ideation among clinical nurses: a cross-sectional study. BMC Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-05369-2

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12912-026-05369-2

Keywords: clinical nurses, professional dignity, caring behaviors, suicidal ideation, work experience, cross-sectional study, convenience sampling, multiple regression, BMC Nursing, relationship, between, caring