A study on the conflicts of social roles in nurses and the ways of addressing them

Information for nursing staff, 2024, 56(1), 42-46.

M. Dragomirova

Medical Institute of the Ministry of Interior, Department of Healthcare and Social Work, New Bulgarian University

Abstract. Social roles are a functional part of each individual and manifest themselves in different aspects of our lives. Nurses are required to cope with high demands on their professional role, as well as a number of other social roles. The aim of this study was to investigate whether social role conflict exists among nurses and how this conflict is managed. The subject of the study are 60 nurses from the Sofia General Hospital and the Bankya Rehabilitation Hospital to the Medical Institute of the Ministry of Interior who were surveyed in the period May – October 2023. The results show that nurses have an extensive repertoire of roles. Expectations from family members, employers and friends are high, often leading to role imbalance and lack of time, with the dynamics and variety of activities causing tension, stress, anxiety and even despair. The most common psychological coping strategies are role rationalization and frequently accepting support from other family members to cope with the demands of a particular social role.

Key words: social roles, nurses, role conflict

Address for correspondence: Assoc. prof. Mariya Dragomirova , PhD, e-mail: mimi_dragomirova@abv.bg