ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Organizational Psychology
Identifying Subgroups of Nurses' Voice Behavior in Clinical Settings: A Latent Profile Analysis of Work Motivation and Demographic Predictors
Jing-Ting 贺敬婷 He 1
Yanping Ying 1
Huihan 赵慧函 Zhao 1
Qiufang 陆秋芳 Lu 1
Yuan 温媛 Wen 2
Hongyu 陆红宇 Lu 3
Jiajie Ning 4
Pengxin 董朋鑫 Dong 5
1. First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
2. Jiangbin Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning, China
3. Maternity and Child Health Care of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning, China
4. Guangxi Medical University Nursing College, Nanning, China
5. The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
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Abstract
Nurses’ voice behavior is critical for patient safety and organizational improvement. However, its manifestation is not uniform among nurses. This study aimed to identify latent profiles of nurses’ voice behavior using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to understand this heterogeneity and explore its influencing factors, with a specific focus on differences across work motivation dimensions (rooted in Self-Determination Theory, SDT). A multicenter cross-sectional design was adopted. Data from 701 clinical nurses across six hospitals in Guangxi Province were analyzed: LPA identified four distinct profiles (Conservative, 5.42%; Balanced Risk-Taker, 26.39%; Transitional, 34.38%; Challenging, 33.8%), and Multinomial Logistic Regression was used to examine predictors. Work motivation was measured by the Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale (MWMS), and voice behavior by the Voice Behavior Scale (VBS). Results showed autonomous motivation (e.g., intrinsic drive) strongly predicted active voice behavior, while amotivation predicted conservative profiles. Nurses exhibited high work motivation (MWMS: 93.02 ± 21.09) and moderately high voice behavior (VBS: 39.27 ± 8.736). The research found that nurses exhibited high work motivation and moderately high voice behavior, with autonomous motivation being a pivotal predictor. Differentiated strategies targeting intrinsic motivation enhancement are critical for fostering nursing innovation and improving care quality.
Summary
Keywords
latent profile analysis, Nurses' voice behavior, Nursing management, self-determination theory, Workmotivation
Received
09 February 2026
Accepted
11 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 He, Ying, Zhao, Lu, Wen, Lu, Ning and Dong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Yanping Ying; Huihan 赵慧函 Zhao
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