The mediating role of emotional intelligence between core competence and depression of nurses / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the relationship between core competence, emotional intelligence and depression of nurses.Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 505 clinical nurses by general data questionnaire, competency inventory for registered nurse, emotional intelligence scale and the primary care evaluation of mental disorders from December 2020 to February 2021.SPSS 23.0 software was used for statistical analysis, and the correlation was obtained by Pearson correlation analysis, and Model 4 in PROCESS V3.4.1 macro program was used to test the mediating effects.Results:The depression score of nurses was(12.42±5.83), and significant differences were found in depression scores at various levels of gender, marital status, and conscious nurse-patient relationship ( F/ t=3.060, 2.678, 3.210, all P<0.05). Core competencies(149.72±54.87) had a positive correlation with emotional intelligence(82.42±15.62)( r=0.967, P<0.01), and depression scores had a negative correlation with core competencies and emotional intelligence ( r=-0.931, -0.928, both P<0.01). The depression level was negatively predicted by core competence of nurses ( β=-0.528, P<0.01). The capabilities of assessing and expressing their own emotions, identifying and assessing others' emotions and managing their own emotions played partial mediating roles, and the effect size were 49.257%(-0.199/-0.404), 16.089%(-0.065/-0.404) and 27.228%(-0.110/-0.404), respectively. Conclusion:Nurses' core competence is a primary factor influencing their depression levels, with emotional intelligence playing a partial mediating role.In addition, nurses' depression level can be reduced by improving the core competence and emotional intelligence of nurses.