Relationship between temperament and communication skills of nursing and midwifery student of Bushehr University

Background and purpose:

Communication skills as important behaviors enable the person to have an effective interaction and avoid an undesirable response. These communication skills indicate behavior and social health. Considering the importance of communication skills in acquiring knowledge and skills of learners, the aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between temperament and communication skills of nursing and midwifery student of Bushehr University in 2017-2018.

Methods and Materials:

The present study is a cross-sectional correlation survey conducted on 300 nursing and midwifery students through census in Bushehr during 2017-2018. The data were collected using questionnaires of Mojahedi temperament (2014) and queendom communication skill (2004). Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 22, using descriptive statistics and analytical tests including Chi-square, independent T test and one way ANOVA considering the significance level of 0.05.

Out of 300 students, 94 people possessed cold and dry temperament (31.8%), 93 people had cold and wet temperament (31.4%), 55 people had hot and wet temperament (18.6%) and 54 people had hot and dry temperament (18.2%). Mean score of communication skills was more than average (108.21±9.72). Mean score of communication skills participant in students with cold and wet temperament was 107.48±6.84, cold and dry temperament was 104.1±10.67, hot and wet temperament was 112.98±7.43, and hot and dry temperament was 112.72±8.42. There was a meaningful relationship between the students' temperament and communication skills. Hot and wet-tempered students as well as hot and dry- tempered students had higher communication skills than cold and wet-tempered and cold and dry-tempered individuals (p<0.001).

Meaningful relationship between temperament and communication skills suggested that focus of attention should be on student’s temperament and temperament modification planning is required in order to increase the communication skills of students.