Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Mar;54(3):578-588.
doi: 10.18502/ijph.v54i3.18250.

Effects of a Nonviolent Communication Education Program on Empathy, Interpersonal Relationships, Stress, and Resilience among Korean Nursing Students

Jung-Ha Park  1 , Heeyoung Jung  2 , Yeon Hee Lee  3 , Young Chul Choi  4 , Ki-Hyok Youn  5
Affiliations

Effects of a Nonviolent Communication Education Program on Empathy, Interpersonal Relationships, Stress, and Resilience among Korean Nursing Students

Jung-Ha Park et al. Iran J Public Health. 2025 Mar.

Abstract

Background: This randomized and controlled pre- and post-test experimental study investigated the effects of a nonviolent communication education program on empathy, interpersonal relationships, stress, and resilience among Korean nursing students.

Methods: We included 51 Korean nursing students from a university in Busan Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea, with 26 in the experimental group and 25 in the control group. Data were collected from May to August 2024, and the nonviolent communication education program was conducted for 8 hours daily. To confirm program effectiveness, the participants were asked to practice nonviolent communication during the 5 weeks of participation in the program, and a reflection journal was to be written daily. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, χ2-tests, independent t-tests, and a repeated-measures analysis of variance.

Results: The over-time change in empathy and interpersonal relationship scores in the experimental group was significantly different from those in the control group (F=8.540, P<0.001 and F=3.654, P=0.029, respectively). However, the over-time change in stress and resilience scores in the experimental group was not significantly different from those in the control group (F=0.366, P=0.851 and F=0.256, P=0.775, respectively).

Conclusion: The nonviolent communication education program was effective in promoting empathy and interpersonal relationships among nursing students. However, its effects on stress and resilience were not significant. Periodic implementation of the program coupled with stress-relief strategies may be effective. A long-term program must be implemented to verify changes in nursing students' self-understanding. Moreover, further research is needed on the sustainability of the program's effects.

Keywords: Education program; Empathy; Interpersonal relationships; Nonviolent; Nursing students; Stress.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1:
Fig. 1:
Flowchart of participant enrolment
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Cunico L, Sartori R, Marognolli O, et al. (2012). Developing empathy in nursing students: a cohort longitudinal study. J Clin Nurs, 21(13–14):2016–25. - PubMed
    1. Rosenberg M, Chopra D. (2015). Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships (Nonviolent Communication Guides). PuddleDancer Press, CA, USA.
    1. Davis MH. (1996). Empathy: A social psychological approach. Madison, Wis.: Brown & Benchmark Publishers, Boulder, CO, USA.
    1. Jeong HS, Lee KL. (2015). Empathy and clinical practice stress in nursing student. Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society, 16(9):6044–52.
    1. Morgan S, Yoder LH. (2012). A concept analysis of person-centered care. J Holist Nurs, 30(1):6–15. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources