Correlation analysis of mental toughness, family social support, and anxiety of nursing staff.

Abstract

This study aims to explore the impact of family social support affects anxiety levels and mental toughness among nursing staff, and to identify the pathways of how mental toughness develops. We selected 256 nursing staff from the Third People's Hospital of Chengdu using a convenience sampling method. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing family social support, anxiety level and mental toughness of the nursing staff. The questionnaires included the general information questionnaire, Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and the Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC). Then, we analyzed the correlation between nursing staff' family social support, anxiety symptoms and mental toughness by using Pearson correlation. Finally, we analyzed the effect of family social support on mental toughness and anxiety levels by using linear regression, and analyzed the path of family social support and psychological toughness on anxiety symptoms by using structural equation modeling. We finally collected 246 valid questionnaires with a valid recovery rate of 96.09%. 116 (47.15%) nursing staff reported a moderate level of family social support, with a mean PSSS score of (58.98 ± 7.64). Anxiety risk was identified in 43.39% of participants, with a mean SAS score of 50.47 ± 10.96. In terms of mental toughness, 104 (42.28%) nursing staff exhibited a low level of mental toughness, and 116 (47.15%) demonstrated moderate level of mental toughness with CD-RISC score of (58.23 ± 10.12). Correlation analyses revealed a strong negative correlation between the family social support, mental toughness and their anxiety (r = -0.586, -0.516, respectively), and a strong positive correlation between family social support and mental toughness (r = 0.571). Regression analysis showed that family social support was a significant negative predictor for anxiety (β = -0.841, t = -9.488), but a significant positive predictor for mental toughness (β = 0.756, t = 11.669). Mediation analysis indicated that mental toughness mediated 26.28% of the relationship between family social support and anxiety levels. Family social support can significantly reduce anxiety levels in nursing staff directly, as well as indirectly by increasing mental toughness.