Relationships Among Character Strengths, Self-efficacy, Social Support, Depression, and Psychological Well-being of Hospital Nurses

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#From the perspective of positive psychology, our study aimed to explore depressive symptomsand psychological well-being among Chinese nurses, as well as analyze the impacts of characterstrengths, self-efficacy and social support on the mental health of nurses. @*Methods@#A cross-sectional and descriptive design using five self-reported questionnaires was used toinvestigate a cohort of 4238 nurses during 2018. A structural equation modeling analysis was used toverify a hypothetical model linking character strengths, self-efficacy, social support, depressive symptoms,and psychological well-being. @*Results@#The prevalence of depression among this cohort of Chinese nurses was 58.1%. The mean scoresfor caring, inquisitiveness, and self-control were 19.93 (SD = 2.82), 15.94 (SD = 3.00), and 16.34(SD = 2.95), respectively. The hypothesized model was a good fit of the data (x2/df = 1.77, p = .183, rootmean square error of approximation = 0.04, goodness of fit index = 1.00, comparative fit index = 1.00,TuckereLewis index = 1.00). Except for the path from self-control to depression, the other hypotheticalpaths investigated were statistically significant. @*Conclusion@#Character strengths were directly and positively associated with psychological well-being.Inquisitiveness was the strongest direct protective factor for depression. In addition, characterstrengths indirectly alleviated depression and increased psychological well-being through mediatingvariables of social support and self-efficacy. This study should alert nurse managers that more attentionshould be paid to the character strengths and mental health of nurses. This study provides evidence forinterventions based on character strengths as a management strategy to support the mental health ofnurses.