The relationship between self-esteem and psychological distress in critical care nurses

Interpersonal sensitivity and its associated factors among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a network analysis

BACKGROUND

Interpersonal sensitivity is a crucial individual characteristic, particularly for young nursing students. However, limited research has specifically examined interpersonal sensitivity in nursing students. This study aimed to employ network analysis to investigate the interconnectedness of interpersonal sensitivity and its associated factors among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

Network analysis was employed to explore the network structure. The first network model was developed to evaluate interpersonal sensitivity. The second network model was constructed to investigate the associations between interpersonal sensitivity and variables that were found to be statistically significant in the multivariable linear regression model.

RESULTS

A total of 864 nursing students participated in the study. The strongest nodes in assessing interpersonal sensitivity among nursing students encompass three distinct aspects: compliments, genuine understanding, and criticism. The multivariate linear regression analysis revealed significant associations between interpersonal sensitivity and various factors, including openness (β = 0.67), anxiety symptoms (β = 0.45), well-being (β = -0.63), loneliness (β = 1.55), and perceived social support (β = 0.66).

CONCLUSIONS

This study yields valuable insights into the phenomenon of interpersonal sensitivity among nursing students amid the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings emphasize the significance of incorporating targeted interventions addressing these factors into nursing education curricula.

The impact of self-esteem and interpersonal relationships on the processing of verbal violence: Evidence from ERPs

The perception of verbal violence is a critical component in the chain of its negative impacts. This study utilized event-related potentials (ERPs) to explore the impact of self-esteem and interpersonal relationships on the processing of verbal violence. Seventy-three participants completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and a verbal violence ERP task. Stimuli depicting verbal violence were presented as violent words within a fixed sentence structure. The interpersonal relationships, represented by the positions of the subjects in the sentences, suggested different sources of verbal violence, including friends and strangers. Participants were asked to evaluate their feelings regarding the verbal violence after each sentence presentation. Behavioral results indicated that self-esteem and interpersonal relationships influenced the ratings of verbal violence. ERP results showed that as self-esteem scores increased, the EPN amplitude for verbal violence from friends was significantly enhanced, while the EPN for verbal violence from strangers remained unaffected. Self-esteem and interpersonal relationships also significantly influenced the LPC amplitude for verbal violence. These findings provide preliminary evidence that self-esteem and interpersonal relationships jointly influence the processing of verbal violence. Future research should continue to examine the specific effects of interpersonal relationships and explore other factors that may modulate the perception of verbal violence.

The role of self-endangering cognitions between long-term care nurses' altruistic job motives and exhaustion

Background

Due to demographic change and staff shortages nurses suffer under high work strain. As a consequence, caregivers' absenteeism due to mental stress, in particular burnout, is high. To explain the development of nurses' burnout more research is needed on nurses' individual resources and coping strategies. Self-endangering is a potentially harmful coping strategy.

Objective

To expand the perspective of the Job Demand-Resources Model by including caregivers' intraindividual resources and the coping construct of self-endangering as a mediator between personal resources and nurses' emotional exhaustion.

Methods

A longitudinal questionnaire survey was conducted between July 2020-March 2021 among nurses in long-term care in Germany. The final analysis sample consisted of wave 1 = 416 and wave 1,2 = 50. Data were analysed by a multiverse analytic strategy using regression analysis with measurement repetition and cross-lagged-panel design for waves one and two. Variables used for regression analysis and cross-lagged-panel were: Independent variables: An altruistic job motivation, team identification and self-esteem, dependent variables: Exhaustion and disengagement, and mediators: Self-endangering cognitions and behavior tendencies.

Results

A highly altruistic job motivation leads to more self-endangering cognitions and to more self-endangering behavior tendencies. Mixed model analysis and cross-sectional path analysis confirmed mediation effects from altruism over self-endangering to exhaustion.

Conclusion

Our findings are at odds with some research findings about altruism in nursing, such that too much altruism can lead to harmful self-endangering. We also introduce a new instrument to capture self-endangering in nursing care. Future research should investigate various facets of self-endangering in nursing. We assume that leadership behavior could have influence on self-endangering. New health policy structures are needed to improve working conditions in nursing and thus prevent self-endangering.

Self-esteem and professional identity among male nurses and male nursing students: mediating roles of perceived prejudice and psychological distress

Introduction

There are not enough nurses around the world, and there are even fewer male nurses. It has not been easy for men to become nurses because of stereotypes about the roles of men and women in the workplace, which lead to prejudice and discrimination. This study explored how the self-esteem of male nurses and male nursing students affects their professional identity in an environment where stereotypes and social prejudice exist. This study also examined the differences of relevant variables in different sociodemographic characteristics of the research subjects in a Chinese social context.

Methods

By purposive and snowball sampling, 464 male nurses and male nursing students were surveyed through questionnaires from November 2021 to January 2022. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 25.0 and PROCESS Macro 3.3.

Results

Self-esteem could indirectly affect professional identity through perceived prejudice and psychological distress. Nonetheless, self-esteem still had a significant direct effect on professional identity. The total mediating effect accounted for 32.816% of the total effect, and the direct effect accounted for 67.184% of the total effect. Also of note was that 81.7% of participants reported experiencing psychological distress.

Discussion

To improve the professional identity of male nurses and male nursing students, nursing educators and administrators should do the following: protect and improve their self-esteem; take steps to reduce social prejudice against them; value their mental health and alleviate their psychological distress.

The Influence of Gender Equity in Nursing Education Programs on Nurse Job Satisfaction

(1) Background: One of the strategies to overcome the shortage of nurses is to minimize gender inequity in nursing culture, starting from the undergraduate education program. Although the number of men entering the nursing profession has increased over the years, the portion of male nurses remains low, particularly in Asian countries. Only a few studies have been conducted to identify gender inequity in nursing, and most of these studies used qualitative study design. Therefore, it is necessary to quantitatively identify gender equity in nursing education and the influence it has on nurse job satisfaction. (2) Methods: A total of 165 male nurses participated in this study. Validated questionnaires were used to assess gender equity in nursing education programs, nurse job satisfaction, nurse job esteem, and nursing professional pride. (3) Results: The mean score of gender equity in nursing programs was 62.6, showing a positive correlation with nurse job satisfaction, nurse job esteem, and nursing professional pride. Gender equity positively predicted nurse job esteem. (4) Conclusions: The gender equity in nursing education programs has positive predictive effects on the factors that influence male nurse job satisfaction. In order to increase nurse job retention, educators should incorporate strategies to minimize gender inequity.

Nurses' sense of organizational support, Self-esteem and perceived professional benefits: A mediating model

AIM

To explore the mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between perceived organizational support and professional benefits among Registered Nurses in China.

DESIGN

This was an online, cross-sectional study involving 1850 nurses from six hospitals in China.

METHODS

Data were collected using a 4-part questionnaire including a sociodemographic questionnaire, perceived organizational support scale, self-esteem scale and brief nurses' perceived professional benefits questionnaire from September to November 2021. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to explore the associations among them.

RESULTS

Perceived organizational support was positively correlated with self-esteem and perceived professional benefits among nurses, whereas self-esteem positively predicted nurses' perceived professional benefits . Self-esteem partially mediated the relationship between the two variables. The ratio of the mediating effect to the total effect was 16.7%.

Global Self-Esteem and Stress Intensity in a Group of Polish Nurses-A Mediatory Role of a Sense of Coherence

(1) Owing to their resistance resources, nurses can reduce the effects of stress, increase their commitment to work and improve their functioning in the face of challenges in the workplace. The aim of this study was to determine the mediatory role of a general sense of coherence and a sense of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness correlated with global self-esteem and the perceived stress intensity in a group of Polish nurses aged 45–55 years. (2) The research using the diagnostic survey method was conducted on a group of 176 nurses (M = 49.1; SD = 3.1) working in seven hospitals located in Olsztyn (Poland). The following were used for data collection: Perceived Stress Scale - PSS-10, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale and Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence (SOC-29) Questionnaire. (3) According to 21.02% of the nurses, their stress level at the workplace was low, 44.89% reported it was medium and 34.09% reported it was high. The self-esteem of nearly half of the nurses included in the study (48.30%) was at a medium level, 31.82% felt it was high and 19.89% felt it was low. The mediation analysis showed that a general sense of coherence and a sense of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness have a mediator status in a correlation between global self-esteem and stress intensity. However, their mediatory role is partial. It is desirable for safe work environment promotion programmes to reinforce nurses’ personal resources, which can be helpful in coping with stressors.