The Mediating Role of Resilience in the Relationship between Perceived Stress and Mental Health

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has created great uncertainty around the world, and due to the pandemic, nurses have been exposed to an increase in highly stressful clinical situations. This study examines the relationships between perceived stress and emotional disorders among nurses who have provided direct patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic and explores the mediating role of resilience in these relationships. In an online cross-sectional design, we asked Spanish nurses (N = 214) to complete self-reported scales, and we performed correlation and mediation analyses between perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale, PSS-4), resilience (Wagnild Resilience Scale, RS-14), wellbeing (World Health Organization Wellbeing Index, five items, WHO-5), anxiety (PHQ-2) and depression (GAD-2). The nurses self-reported moderate levels of perceived stress, considerable psychological distress and high resilience. We found resilience to be significantly negatively correlated with the reported levels of perceived stress, anxiety and depression (p < 0.001). The mediating analysis revealed that resilience played a protective role in the direct relationships of stress with depression, anxiety, and psychological distress. To conclude, our findings supported the hypothesis that resilience mediated the relationship between stress and mental health.

Anxiety, Perceived Stress, and Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Population Estimates of Persons Presenting to a General Practitioner in Romania

“…Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale is a 14-item self-report instrument. Items investigate aspects such as the emotional reaction to negative life situations, the degree of perceived control over sources of stress or the confidence in handling one’s problems [ 38 ]. Each item is rated using a 5-point Likert type scale (0 = ‘Never’, 4 = ‘Very Often’), with a total score ranging between 0 and 56.…”

Healthcare Workers' Resilience Mediates the Influence of Organizational Commitment and Anxiety Response to Viral Epidemic on Their Quality of Life in the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…There is some evidence of the mediating effects of resilience in relationships between factors regarding healthcare worker's psychological stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous studies of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic showed psychological resilience has a protective mediating role between depression, perceived stress and personal burnout, and mental health, which may affect the quality of life ( 28 , 29 ). Similarly, front-line nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced a medium to high level of fatigue but their psychological resilience reduced the negative impact of fatigue on their job satisfaction and turnover intention ( 30 ).…”

Mental Health and Social Support Are Key Predictors of Resilience in German Women with Endometriosis during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Scoring >9 on the PHQ-4 scale had 76.9% and 88.4% lower odds of scoring >2.66 and >3.33 on the BRS scale, respectively. During the COVID-19 pandemic, or other natural or man-made disasters, the inverse relationship between mental health and resilience was extensively studied and validated in various populations [24,[26][27][28]. These studies described an inverse correlation between positive and negative affect in women suffering from chronic pain conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, or fibromyalgia [22,76].…”

“…In addition, resilience affects the perceived physical disability of patients with chronic pain, as well as the pain-related long-term morbidity and mortality [19,21,23]. Resilience was described as a predictor of threat coping and mental well-being in people who experienced natural disasters or health crisis [24][25][26][27][28].…”