Correlation between social support, coping styles and resiliency in surgical nurses

Abstract

Objective To probe into the relationship between social support, coping styles and resiliency of nurses in surgery department. Methods A total of 192 surgical nurses were selected from a general tertiary hospital in Fuzhou on random cluster sampling basis. The following measures were used to collect data: the Chinese version of Mental Resilience Scale, the Simple Coping Style Questionnaire and the Social Support Rating Scale. Results The resilience score of surgical nurses was (58.41±12.86) points. Also, resilience had positive and significant correlation with positive coping styles, social support, objective support, subjective support and support utilization degree (more specifically r=0.629, P < 0.01 and r = 0.334, P < 0.01, r = 0.242, P < 0.01 and r = 0.312, P < 0.01 and r = 0.156, P < 0.05). Conclusions The overall level of resiliency in surgical nurses was undesirable, however effective problem-based coping skills and adequate social support may help the group improve resilience and to qualify for better nursing services. Key words: Surgical nurses; resilience; coping styles; Social support