Exploration of the Association between Nurses’ Moral Distress and Secondary Traumatic Stress Syndrome: Implications for Patient Safety in Mental Health Services

Table 2

Summary statistics (), Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of internal consistency (), and test-retest correlation coefficient for main study variables (overall scale and/or subscales).

Instrument; overall scale	Subscale; (number of items, theoretical range)	Mean (SD)	Median (IQR)	Range	Cronbach’s alpha coefficient	Test-retest Pearson’s; (-value)
Modified version of Moral Distress Scale for Mental Health Services (M-MDS-MHS)	Frequency, 32 items; (theoretical range: 0–128)	37.8 (20.1)	38 (24–51)	1–103	α = 0.962	()
	Intensity, 32 items; (theoretical range: 0–128)	76.4 (31.1)	71 (47–97)	0–127	α = 0.926	()
	Composite score, multiplicative; (theoretical range: 0–512)	96.8 (62.9)	91 (51–135)	0–345
Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale	17 items; (theoretical range: 17–85)	31.1 (10.2)	30 (24–37)	17–61	α = 0.925	()
Jefferson Scale of Empathy	20 items; (theoretical range: 20–140)	105.9 (12.7)	106 (100–115)	69–134	α = 0.777	()
General Health Questionnaire-28; (GHQ-28)	Somatic symptoms, 7 items; (theoretical range: 0–21)	5.8 (3.5)	5 (3–8)	0–18	α = 0.855	()
	Anxiety/insomnia, 7 items; (theoretical range: 0–21)	5.4 (3.9)	5 (3–7)	0–18	α = 0.898	()
	Social dysfunction, 7 items; (theoretical range: 0–21)	6.7 (2.6)	7 (6-7)	0–17	α = 0.837	()
	Depression, 7 items; (theoretical range: 0–21)	5.0 (2.2)	1 (0–2)	0–12	α = 0.830	()
	Overall, 28 items; (theoretical range: 0–84)	19.4 (10.0)	17 (13–24)	0–55