12-month trajectories of depressive symptoms among nurses—Contribution of personality, job characteristics, coping, and burnout

Abstract

Background: Job related factors have been associated with higher risk for developing depression, but past studies lacked full consideration of individual factors such as personality and coping. We sought to evaluate associations of personality, coping, job characteristics, and burnout with 12-month trajectories of depressive symptoms among nursing workers. Methods: Cohort of nursing workers (N = 281) in a private hospital system, with baseline assessments of personality, job characteristics, and coping. Burnout and depression were measured at baseline and during monthly follow-ups. Linear mixed modeling was used to examine contributions to between- and within-individual variation in monthly depressive symptoms. Results: Personality trait of negative affectivity accounted for 36% of between-individual variation in depressive symptoms over 12 months, while job characteristics and coping explained an additional 5% and 8% of this variation, respectively. Exhaustion dimension of burnout was associated with between-individual variation in depressive symptoms (fixed effect β coefficient 2.44, p < 0.001), but not with within-individual variation in symptoms. Disengagement dimension of burnout was not associated with between-individual variation in depressive symptoms, but contributed to within-individual variation in depressive symptoms over time (fixed effect β coefficient 0.52, p = 0.01). Limitations: Participants were nursing workers within a single hospital system. Participants who were excluded due to missing baseline data were more likely of non-white race, which may also limit the generalizability of our results. We used latent variables to represent certain job and coping characteristics, which may make our results less comparable with other studies examining the role of these factors in work-associated depression. Conclusions: Future interventions to prevent depression in healthcare workers should consider multiple job and individual factors. Potential components include strategies to manage negative affectivity and reduce avoidant coping, such as cognitive reframing and mindfulness-based techniques, and organizational approaches to address burnout through augmentation of job resources.

Prevalence of burnout in mental health nurses and related factors: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Moreover, conflict in the workplace can strain family relations, provoking depression, and sleep disturbances (Zhang et al ). Another possible source of burnout is that of role conflict, arising from a lack of commitment, which in turn is caused by job instability, negative affectivity, or the inability to cope with stress (Duan‐Porter et al ) and job dissatisfaction (Han et al ). Other reasons for high levels may be the monotony of work (Cañadas‐De la Fuente et al ), poor interpersonal relationships in the workplace (Bambi et al ), a prolonged presence in the same job, or lack of recognition of the work performed (in units that are often under‐staffed), all of which can erode job motivation and expectations (Roomaney et al ).…”

“…Finally, the findings of low–moderate levels of burnout may be due to the fact that nurses sometimes must deal with hostile situations (Gascon et al 2013) which can produce high levels of stress (Gómez‐Urquiza et al ) if they are not skilled in managing hostile situations and how to cope with it (Duan‐Porter et al ). This problem might be overcome by helping them develop capabilities such as emotional intelligence (De Looff et al ).…”

“…Moreover, conflict in the workplace can strain family relations, provoking depression, and sleep disturbances (Zhang et al 2017). Another possible source of burnout is that of role conflict, arising from a lack of commitment, which in turn is caused by job instability, negative affectivity, or the inability to cope with stress (Duan-Porter et al 2018) and job dissatisfaction (Han (Bambi et al 2018), a prolonged presence in the same job, or lack of recognition of the work performed (in units that are often under-staffed), all of which can erode job motivation and expectations (Roomaney et al 2017). Finally, we must acknowledge the possibility of aggression in the workplace, an unfortunately common occurrence due (in many cases), to staff shortages.…”

Burnout and Engagement: Personality Profiles in Nursing Professionals

“…The personality characteristics of each individual play a relevant role in the way they work and the vitality and efficacy with which they perform their job [12,13]. They are also related to the of 14 perception of work events as stressful, such that individuals prone to anxiety are more vulnerable to job stress [14,15]. Studies suggest that personality factors are related to the burnout syndrome in health professionals [16].…”

“…14 factors proposed in the Maslach & Jackson[58] model as well as components which precede and follow it. The instrument's reliability for the study sample was 0.87.The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES)[59], specifically, the version adapted to Spanish by Valdez & Ron[60], was used to evaluate engagement.…”