Objective The purpose of the current study was to discuss the interrelation among alexithymia and negative psychology of nursing personnel and their coping style, so as to provide a theoretical basis for better mental health education and psychological intervention for nursing personnel.

Methods A questionnaire survey was administered to 503 nursing personnel sampled from a hospital in Henan Province between May and June 2010 by means of survey instruments of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 Items (TAS-20), the Trait Coping Style Questionnaire (TCSQ), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-20).

Results (1) Alexithymia and a negative coping style had a positive correlation with negative psychology (P<0.01), while a positive coping style had a negative correlation with negative psychology (P<0.01). (2) The model fitting indices of coping style as intermediate variables between alexithymia and+ negative psychology were χ²/df=1.459, RMSEA=0.030, CFI=0.995, IFI=0.995, RFI=0.966, TCI=0.989, and NEI=0.985, indicating a good model fitting. Ninety-nine percent of the total variation of negative psychology could be explained by alexithymia and coping style, of which the indirect effect affecting negative psychology by coping style accounted for 94.59% of the total.

Conclusion Alexithymia and coping style were very important factors for improvement of current mental status of the nursing personnel, especially for a change in negative coping style and selection of good coping style.