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Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of alexithymia in intensive care unit nurses and determine the associated factors. Design: A multi‐center, cross‐sectional study. Methods: In total, 485 nurses in intensive care unit were recruited from 53 hospitals in China. Data collection tools used in the study included demographic characteristics, the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS), and the 20‐item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS‐20). SPSS 25.0 software (Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) was used to preform data analysis. Results: About 43.7% of intensive care unit nurses were classified as alexithymia in the whole sample (males: 50%, females: 43%). The median TAS‐20 score was 60 (interquartile range = 9). The study found that alexithymia was significantly associated with marital status, whether living alone, working years, and social support (Adjusted R Squared = 0.194, F = 6.466, p < 0.01), while emotional intelligence was not statistically significant with alexithymia. Conclusions: Alexithymia is a psychological problem with high incidence in intensive care unit nurses. In this study, being unmarried or divorced, living alone, and having fewer years of work (≤5 years) were associated with a higher risk of alexithymia. Interventions that strengthen social support may also help improve the mental health of ICU nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several factors are associated with the incidence of burnout, including alexithymia, social support, and depression. The relative importance of these three key parameters as mediators of burnout, however, is not well understood. In addition, there have been few studies to date specifically examining the association between alexithymia and burnout among nurses in China. Purpose: To evaluate the relationship of burnout with alexithymia, social support, and depression across emergency department nurses in China. Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional survey was conducted using a convenience sampling methodology to survey nurses responsible for direct emergency care (n = 413) from 18 tertiary hospitals in Western, Eastern, Northern, and Southern China between May 2020 and June 2020. A structural equation modeling approach was then used to assess a hypothetical model wherein alexithymia both directly and indirectly affects burnout among emergency nurses via impacting the incidence of depression and perceived social support. Results: Results supported all driving hypotheses. Alexithymia was positive direct correlated with burnout (β = 0.35; P < 0.001) and depression (β = 0.50; P < 0.001), and exhibited a negative direct effect on social support (β = − 0.14; P = 0.041). Depression was associated with burnout, both directly (β = 0.24; P < 0.001) and indirectly (β = 0.15; P < 0.001) through its relationship with social support. Alexithymia was the factor most strongly associated with burnout, and it was able to affect burnout indirectly through depression and social support. Conclusions: We found that among emergency nurses in China, alexithymia was correlated with burnout, depression, and social support. Alexithymia was the factor most strongly associated with burnout. These data suggest that providing better social support and alleviating alexithymia may decrease rates of burnout among emergency nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]