Variations in the mental health and sense of coherence (SOC) of new graduate nurses and the effects of SOC on variations in mental health

Abstract

The current research conducted a longitudinal study of new graduate nurses at 3 times-prior to their employment as nurses and 3 months and 1 year afterward. This study yielded 3 findings. 1) The mental health of new graduate nurses significantly worsens 3 months after employment as a nurse and mental health 1 year after employment as a nurse was significantly worse than that before employment. 2) A sense of coherence (SOC) is the ability to cope with stressors, and the 3 components of SOC decreased significantly in the year after employment as a nurse.3) The mental health of new graduate nurses was significantly affected by a low SOC and by previous diminishing of SOC. Findings suggested the importance of support to sustain and improve the mental health of new graduate nurses and the importance of approaches in the workplace to encourage the development of SOC.

The Relationships between Emotion, Sense of Coherence, Social Rhythm and Positive Mental Health in Chinese University Students during COVID-19

“…Sense of coherence can affect the mental health of individuals (Takeuchi, 2013;Jiménez et al, 2015). This study reconfirms the strong association between sense of coherence and positive mental health and that sense of coherence can predict positive mental health.…”

“…SOC reflects a coping capacity and individuals with a strong SOC tend to cope with stress flexibly and effectively (Super et al, 2015). Studies have demonstrated SOC to be an important variable in predicting mental health (Takeuchi, 2013;Krok & Kleszczewska-Albańska, 2019) and the positive relationship between SOC and PMH was also found in mental health professionals (Jiménez et al, 2015). The recent study demonstrates that SOC is an important predictor and modulator of psychopathological symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in those respondents that ruminate about the pandemic (Schäfer et al, 2022).…”