Abstract: Objective To explore the latent classes and influencing factors of vicarious traumatization in emergency department nurses,and compare the levels of vicarious posttraumatic growth according to their classifications. Methods A total of 498 emergency department nurses from 20 public general hospitals in Anhui Province were selected by convenient sampling method from March to May 2022. The general data questionnaire,the Vicarious Traumatization Questionnaire and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory were used for questionnaire investigation. Results The vicarious traumatization of emergency department nurses could be divided into three categories：low trauma group（15.5%）,medium trauma group（53.0%） and high trauma-impaired life belief group（31.5%）. Nurses with different categories had differences in vicarious posttraumatic growth scores（F=3.736,P=0.025）. Logistic regression results showed that personality,whether to participate in public emergency response training,and nurse-patient relationship were influencing factors of the latent categories of vicarious traumatization. Conclusion Vicarious traumatization for emergency department nurses could be divided into three categories,the higher the degree of vicarious traumatization,the higher the level of vicarious posttraumatic growth. Nursing managers should pay special attention to emergency department nurses who are introverted,have not participated in emergency training for public emergencies,and have poor nurse-patient relationships,and take targeted intervention measures to reduce the occurrence of vicarious traumatization.

Key words: Emergency Department, Nurses, Vicarious Traumatization, Vicarious Posttraumatic Growth, Latent Profile Analysis, Nursing Administration Research