Psychological resilience and intention to stay among nurses: the mediating role of perceived organizational support

Background: This study aims to analyze the relationship between psychological resilience, perceived organizational support, and intention to stay among nurses. Additionally, it explores the mediating role of perceived organizational support in the relationship between psychological resilience and nurses' intention to stay.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between August and September 2023, involving 1,402 nurses from five Grade 3A hospitals in Guangdong. The survey utilized several instruments, including the General Information Questionnaire (GIQ), the Chinese version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), the Chinese version of the Perceived Organizational Support Scale (POSS), and the Chinese version of the Intention to Stay Scale (ITSS). The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation coefficient, while the mediating effect of perceived organizational support was assessed using the PROCESS macro mediation model in SPSS.

Results: The overall mean score for psychological resilience among nurses in the five Grade 3A hospitals in Guangdong was 60.54 ± 19.17, the overall mean score for perceived organizational support was 45.77 ± 11.49, and the mean score for intention to stay was 20.82 ± 4.65. The results of the statistical analysis revealed positive correlations between psychological resilience and intention to stay (r = 0.388, p < 0.01), between perceived organizational support and psychological resilience (r = 0.570, p < 0.01), and between perceived organizational support and intention to stay (r = 0.550, p < 0.01). Additionally, perceived organizational support was found to mediate the relationship between psychological resilience and intention to stay, with a mediation effect value of 0.067, accounting for 71.28% of the total effect.

Conclusion: Psychological resilience of nursing staff directly impacts their intention to stay and indirectly influences their caring behaviors, with perceived organizational support serving as a key mediator in both relationships. Therefore, nursing managers should implement targeted interventions to enhance nurses' psychological resilience and perceived organizational support. Strengthening these factors can significantly increase nurses' intention to stay in their jobs, improve the quality of care, and contribute to building a strong and stable nursing workforce.