Assessment of Impulsivity, Circadian Preferences, and Job Satisfaction in Nurses working with Shift system

INTRODUCTION: Shift work, particularly night shifts may deteriorate many factors like impulsiveness and job satisfaction along with the impairment in physical and mental performance as well as familial and social relationships. In this study, our objective was to evaluate impulsiveness, circadian preferences, and job satisfaction in nurses and to compare their effects on the day and night shift work.
METHODS: For this purpose, a total of 100 nurses of a university medical center hospital (50 working day shift and 50 working night shift) were included in the study between March 2020 and May 2020. They were evaluated with socio-demographic information form, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, and Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Correlation coefficient was calculated to determine the relationships between scales.
RESULTS: In our study, for the shift working nurses, the mean scores of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire were 58.13±13.44, 68.62±10.64, and 53.00±7.19 respectively. The Barratt Impulsiveness total score and the sub-dimensions of scale attentional impulsiveness and motor impulsiveness were significantly higher in night shift workers (p values≤0.05). Job satisfaction was not statistically associated with sex and shift work type.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: It was found that impulsivity scale sores of night-shift workers were higher than daytime workers. Effective management of impulsivity and assessment of workers’ suitability for the shift system according to their chronotypes are important for preventing deficiencies in the health system.