Social Support and Hope Mediate the Relationship Between Gratitude and Depression Among Front-Line Medical Staff During the Pandemic of COVID-19

Abstract

BackgroundThe pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has burdened an unprecedented psychological stress on the front-line medical staff, who are at high risk of depression. While existing studies and theories suggest that factors such as gratitude, social support, and hope play a role in the risk of depression, few studies have combined these factors to explore the relationship between them.ObjectiveThis study examined the mediating roles of social support and hope in the relationship between gratitude and depression among front-line medical staff during the pandemic of COVID-19.MethodsThis study used the Gratitude Questionnaire, the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), the State Hope Scale (SHS), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale to examine the gratitude, social support, hope, and depression among 344 front-line medical workers in Wuhan, which was the hardest-hit area of COVID-19 in China.ResultsThe results showed that the prevalence of mild depressive disorder was 40.12% and the prevalence of major depressive disorder was 9.59% among front-line medical staff during the pandemic of COVID-19; gratitude has a direct and negative effect on depression. Gratitude was negative predictors of depression through the mediating variables of social support and hope [βgratitude–social support–depression = −0.096, 95%CI(−0.129 to −0.064); βgratitude–hope–depression = −0.034, 95%CI(−0.055 to −0.013)], as well as via an indirect path from social support to hope [βgratitude–social support–hope–depression = −0.089, 95%CI (−0.108 to −0.070)].ConclusionThe study findings indicate that gratitude as a positive emotion can reduce depression in medical staff by promoting social support and hope, respectively. Gratitude also reduced depression in health care workers through a chain mediating effect of social support and hope. Overall, gratitude can directly foster social support and hope, and protect people from stress and depression, which has implications for clinical interventions among front-line medical staff during the pandemic of COVID-19.

A Systematic Review: The Dimensions utilized in the Performance Evaluation of Healthcare- An Implication during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…To increase the HCWs' satisfaction rates, their accomplishments at the pandemic were found to be positively associated with higher occupational satisfaction rates [117]. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, the better the performance of communication dimension, including the psychological support, will raise the HCWs' job satisfaction and lower the rates of burnout and stress [110,117]. Some HCWs felt stress and fear mainly due to the possibility of transmitting the virus to their family member and the elderly living in their house [113].…”

“…It found that lower levels of HCW's psychological distress symptoms, burnout, and intentions to quit were perceived when these communication resources were more available. Another study [110] indicated that gratitude in communication could reduce depression in HCWs by promoting social support and hope, respectively.…”

Can servant leadership prevent hotel employee depression during the COVID-19 pandemic? A mediating and multigroup analysis

“…By having such social ties, one may gain access to the resources embedded in these social ties (e.g., advice, assistance, information, ideas, opportunities, power, emotional support, Li et al., 2019 ), and having access to such resources may signal one has a reserve of resources to be drawn on in times of need. This can improve their sense of meaning, sense of purpose and hope ( Feng and Yin, 2021 ), which may ultimately be positive for mental health (cf., Marroquín et al., 2020 ; Thoits, 2011 ). This set of resources to which individuals have access, thanks to their social ties and connections with others, is defined in the existing literature as personal social capital (PSC; King and Lee, 2016 ).…”

Risk and protective factors of depression in the general population during the COVID-19 epidemic in Korea

“…Because the COVID-19 pandemic is a community disaster with many unwanted social restrictions, we hypothesised that gratitude might be important in protecting against depression. Although gratitude has been reported to have a positive impact on the mental health of service providers [ 18 ], few studies have investigated its protective effects on depression in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regular physical exercise can also provide protection against future depression [ 19 ].…”