ABSTRACT:
Background/Objectives: Therapeutic nurse-patient relationship is essential in nursing practice. This study investigated the effects of bibliotherapy on self-esteem, emotional awareness, and empathy, which are required capacities for therapeutic relationship, in nursing students in Korea. Methods/Statistical analysis: Forty one freshman nursing students were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=21) or the control group (n=20). Eight sessions of 90-minute bibliotherapy was provided to the experimental group for 4 weeks in 2014. Rosenberg self-esteem scale, Trait Meta-mood Scale, and interpersonal reactivity index were used to measure self-esteem, emotional awareness, and empathy respectively. Descriptive statistics, ?2-test, Fisher’s exact test, t-tests, and ANCOVA were conducted using SPSS statistics 21.0. Findings: Significant differences in the scores of self-esteem (t=2.108, p=.041) and emotional awareness (t=4.767, p<.001) were identified between the two groups after 4 weeks of bibliotherapy, but the levels of empathy were not significantly different between the groups (t=1.540, p=.134). However, subscale analysis of empathy showed that empathic concern was significantly different (F=9.970, t=.003). Self-awareness, self-worth, empathy, and awareness of boundaries and limits of professional role are necessary capacities to establish therapeutic nurse-patient relationships in practice. In this study, self-esteem and emotional awareness increased significantly through bibliotherapy. Therefore, bibliotherapy can be one of the methods in cultivating some of these capabilities for nursing students. Improvements/Applications: This study suggests that bibliotherapy could be helpful for nursing students, particularly in building therapeutic relationships with patients, by promoting their self-esteem and emotional awareness.