The effects of psychological flexibility and night shifts on mental health and well-being in nurses

Abstract

Background Examining mental health among nurses in the later stages of the COVID-19 pandemic could offer valuable information for addressing these symptoms in the long term. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess the mental health and well-being of Chinese nurses, as well as investigate the impact of psychological flexibility and night shifts on this relationship. Method In cross-sectional, hospital-based, multicenter study, 422 Chinese nurses were selected by multistage stratified cluster random sampling. The mental health status, psychological flexibility, and wellbeing were assessed via 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Chinese version of Personalized Psychological Flexibility Index, and Chinese version of the 5-item WHO Well-Being Index, respectively. To examine the proposed theoretical model, we conducted structural equation modeling using SPSS Amos 26 version. The age, gender, night shift, psychological flexibility, mental health, and well-being data were entered into the model. Pearson correlation and chi-square were used to explore the correlation between variables. Results The high night shifts, being young and low psychological flexibility significantly had a direct effect on worse mental health (night shifts: ES, 95% CI: 0.619, 0.328–0.725; age: ES, 95% CI: 0.542, 0.226–0.993; psychological flexibility: ES, 95% CI: 0.675, 0.369–1.466). The low psychological flexibility and worse mental health were able to directly effect on worse wellbeing (psychological flexibility: ES, 95% CI: 0.419, 0.757–1.519; mental health: ES, 95% CI: 0.719, 1.109–2.607). In addition, psychological flexibility through the mediation of mental health also had an indirect effect on wellbeing (ES, 95% CI: 0.269, 0.957–2.165).