Mediating effects of self-efficacy, coping, burnout, and social support between job stress and mental health among young Chinese nurses

Aims: To examine the mediating effects of self-efficacy, coping, burnout, and social support in the link between job stress and depression and anxiety among young Chinese nurses.

Design: A cross-sectional survey was used.

Methods: Full-time young nurses (N = 1,029) who worked in nine tertiary grade A hospitals in Chengdu China were recruited from December 2016-March 2017. Structural equation modelling was applied to analyse the mediating effects.

Results: Job stress had a direct positive effect on anxiety (β = 0.054) and it also exerted indirect positive effects on depression (β = 0.337) and anxiety (β = 0.325) through mediating factors. Emotional exhaustion and social support were the main mediating variables, accounting for 72.0% of the variation in anxiety and nearly 43.4% in depression.

Conclusion: Emotional exhaustion and social support may have significant mediating effects in the link between job stress and depression and anxiety. Strategies including deceasing emotional exhaustion, enhancing social support in work environment, and reducing job stressors would be useful to prevent depression and anxiety among young nurses.

Impact: What problems did the study address? Depression and anxiety have great impact on professional performance of nurses and even patient safety. Factors such as coping, burnout, etc., may have different mediating effects in the paths from job stress to depression and anxiety. What were the main findings? Job stress had direct and indirect positive effects on anxiety and it only had indirect positive effect on depression. Emotional exhaustion and social support were the main mediating variables in the link between job stress and depression and anxiety. Where and on whom will the research have impact? Nursing managers should be more cognizant of the impact of job stress on the development of depression and anxiety. The significant mediating effect of emotional exhaustion and social support in the link between job stress and depression and anxiety should be emphasized by nursing administrators and effective targeted measures need to be adopted.