The impact of vertical violence on nursing students’ success and confidence

Objective: This study aimed to explore the prevalence and impact of vertical violence on nursing students’ academic outcomes and perceived self-confidence over a 12-month period.
Methods: A post hoc exploratory analysis of a cross-sectional descriptive study. Undergraduate student nurses (n = 70) between 18 and 25 years of age enrolled in traditional, 4-year baccalaureate programs in the United States. Participants completed the Incivility in Nursing Education-Revised survey and the Bullying Behaviors in Nursing Education tool. Bayesian data analysis was utilized to generate a predictive partition model to assess the probability of a relationship between vertical violence and student nurses’ self-confidence.
Results: Roughly 42% of participants reported a lack of self-confidence related to incidents of incivility, yet their mean grade point average (GPA) was above 3.77. In the partition predictive model, 62% of the variation in confidence levels among student nurses could be attributed to incidences of bullying, incivility, and GPA. Of the 30 students who reported that their confidence was negatively impacted by one-on-one incidents of incivility, 73% reported that the incivility affected their confidence.
Conclusions: Vertical violence from nurse educators and clinical nursing staff negatively impacts student nurses’ self-confidence.