The effects of self-esteem and anxiety on conflict management styles: Sample of a university hospital

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of self-esteem and anxiety on the preffered conflict management styles and to explore the moderating role of self-esteem in the relationship of state and trait anxiety with conflict management styles at a university hospital sample. Study questionnaires which include both qualitative and quantitative components were distributed to 412 physicians and nurses and 311 of those 412 subjects who returned the questionnaires were included in the study. The quantitative data was constituted of sociodemographic characteristics, Rahim?s Organizational Conflict Management Inventory-II (ROCI-II), Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES) and Spielberger State And Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The quantitative data was analyzed by SPSS 15.0 and AMOS 18.0 and the qualitative data which was constituted of 4 open ended questions and returned by 42 of 311 participants was evaluated by content analysis.Study results showed that integrating was the mostly used conflict management style by both the physicians and nurses while avoiding was the least; besides, if there is enough time to resolve the conflict, the participants preffered integrating style, but if there is a shortage of time, they acted according to the needs of the situation. Additionally, participating physicians used compromising style more to manage the conflicts with their colleagues compared to the nurses. Male participants used dominating, female physicians preffered compromising and avoiding and female nurses used dominating styles more commonly; married participants used integrating, single participants used dominating; childless participants used compromising style more commonly; 26-35 years-old group used integrating style more than the participants younger than 25 years old; 4 or less years of experienced used avoiding and compromising; resident physicians used compromising style more than the staff nurses. There was no significant difference between the conflict management styles according to the educational status and daily mean working time variables. While self-esteem was found higher in physicians compared to the nurses, both professional groups had high self-esteem levels. In parallel to this, the majority of the participants declared that they make internal objective evaluation of the situation when they receive criticism. Both physicians and nurses had low state and trait anxiety levels but the state anxiety level of the nurses was significantly higher than the physicians. The majority of the participants declared that they mostly feel a malpractice anxiety. On the other hand, it was identified that there was a positive correlation of integrating with dominating, compromising styles and self-esteem, and negative correlation with state and trait anxiety; a positive correlation of avoiding style with obliging style and trait anxiety, and negative correlation with dominating style and self-esteem; positive correlation of obliging style with compromising style and trait anxiety, and negative correlation with dominating style and self-esteem; positive correlation of dominating style with self-esteem, and negative correlation with trait anxiety; positive correlation of compromising style with self-esteem, and negative correlation with trait anxiety; additionally, state and trait anxiety are positively correlated with each other. The main hypothesis of the study that indicates conflict management styles are affected by self-esteem, state and trait anxiety, was fully supported in avoiding, obliging, dominating and compromising styles but partially supported in integrating style as the contribution of trait anxiety alone was not significant to explain the model in integrating style. Additionally, this study revealed that self-esteem of the participant nurses and physicians has a moderating role in the relationship of state and trait anxiety with conflict management styles.