Who's Listening to Victims? Nurses' Listening Styles and Domestic Violence Screening

The current study applies the Listening Styles Profile (LSP16) to nurses and nursing students. Compared to a control group (n = 102), nurses (n = 188) and nursing students (n = 206) show marked differences in listening styles. The majority of participants were people-oriented listeners. People-oriented nurses tend to be more knowledgeable about domestic abuse, as well as hospital policies and procedures. They are also the most confident about their ability to identify and assist victims of domestic abuse. Content-oriented listening is also conducive to effective screening, but time-oriented and action-oriented listening may be detrimental to patients. Implications for nursing education and effective screening are discussed.