Overview of the Scope of Breach/Violation of Nurses' Psychological Contract

Objective: To conduct a scoping review on the breach/violation of the psychological contract among nurses, providing a reference for in-depth follow-up research. Methods: Following the scoping review reporting guidelines, relevant literature on nurses' psychological contract breach/violation was retrieved from domestic and international databases, with the search period from database inception to 10 January 2026. Two researchers independently conducted literature screening and analysis. Results: A total of 19 studies were included, among which 2 reported nurses' psychological contract breach scores ranging from 32 to 85, 5 reported an incidence rate of 44.1% to 52.45%, and 5 reported nurses' psychological contract violation scores ranging from 57 to 75. The impacts were primarily on nurses, organisations, and patients. Influencing factors were categorised into demographics, professional and organisational characteristics, organisational environment and socio-psychological factors, and others. Corresponding strategies included timely fulfilment of organisational promises, implementation of organisational fairness management systems, development of psychological contract management processes, creation of a safe working environment, reinforcement of hospital culture, and provision of development resources for nurses. Two types of tools were used across the 19 studies to assess nurses' psychological contract breach/violation. Conclusion: The incidence of nurses' psychological contract breach/violation is moderate to high and influenced by multiple factors. Future research should develop locally-targeted assessment tools for precise evaluation, and integrate psychological approaches to conduct large-sample, multi-centre intervention studies to comprehensively alleviate nurses' psychological contract breach/violation.