Sense of coherence and strategies for coping with stress among nurses

Abstract

Background The nursing profession is associated with constant presence of difficult situations and stress, which arise from responsibility for the highest values – human life and health. With demographic changes in the society, the demand for nursing care increases. Looking after the health of nursing staff becomes a non-material investment in employees. One of the most important health potentials described in literature is the sense of coherence. It can significantly contribute to maintaining good health, modify one’s functioning in a stressful working environment and influence the choice of strategies for coping with stress. Aim The aim of the study was to describe the specific relationship between the sense of coherence and strategies for coping with stress in a group of professionally active nurses. Methodology and methods The study involved 91 nurses in central Poland, aged 22–52. The group was diversified in terms of: education, work system, marital status and place of residence. The study was conducted with the use of: Sense of Coherence Questionnaire SOC-29 and Inventory to Measure Coping Strategies with Stress - Mini-COPE. The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of scientific research set out in the Helsinki Declaration. Results The sense of coherence value in the test group was M = 134.24 (SD = 19.55). In stressful situations nurses most often used active strategies to cope with stress: Planning M = 2.10 (SD = 0.54), Seeking Emotional Social Support M = 1.95 (SD = 0.68) and Seeking Instrumental Social Support M = 1.95 (SD = 0.69), and the least frequently: Alcohol/Drug Use M = 0.28 (SD = 0.48). The level of the sense of coherence and its components differentiated the strategies of coping with stress used in the examined group of nurses. Conclusions The research confirmed that the sense of coherence serves as a health potential in a stressful working environment - a high sense of coherence translate into better mental health, correct functioning in the working environment, and using adaptive strategies of coping with stress. Nurses with a stronger sense of coherence used more adaptive strategies to deal with stress than those with average or low levels.

The Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Stress Levels and Occurrence of Stomatoghnatic System Disorders (SSDs) among Physiotherapy Students in Poland

“…All participants agreed to voluntarily participate in the study by signing an informed consent. They were asked to fill in the survey consisting of two parts: the first part included a respondent's particulars (age, sex, year of study) and ten close-ended questions concerning the symptoms of SSDs and pain (Likert scale) [39][40][41][42][43][44][45]. The second part consisted of standardized psychological questionnaires, PSS10 (perceived stress scale), Mini-Cope (Inventory for measuring coping with stress), DS14 (Type-D scale) [46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54].…”

Global Self-Esteem and Stress Intensity in a Group of Polish Nurses—A Mediatory Role of a Sense of Coherence

“…Performing the nursing profession entails frequent difficult (often stressful) situations as a consequence of being responsible for the highest values—human health and life. According to many researchers, a sense of coherence can considerably contribute to maintaining good health, modify one’s functioning in a stressful work environment, protect nurses from professional burnout and affect the choice of a strategy for coping with stress [ 23 , 25 , 28 ]. The analyses performed in the current study show that the mean score for the overall sense of coherence for nurses aged 45–55 years was 130.5 (SD = 19.8) points, for comprehensibility—47.0 (SD = 10.6), for manageability—47.5 (SD = 7.8) and for meaningfulness—36.0 (SD = 5.5).…”

“…Masanotti et al conducted a wide-ranging literature review and found SOC to be a predictor of depression, professional burnout and dissatisfaction with work among nurses [ 25 , 26 , 27 ]. The findings of a study conducted by Betke et al confirmed that the sense of coherence promotes health in a stressful work environment – a high sense of coherence in nurses translates into better mental health, proper functioning in the work environment and following adaptative strategies of coping with stress [ 28 ]. Another study demonstrated a diversity in the three sense of coherence dimension levels among nurses in Sweden.…”

Helping others not always helps ourselves: the relationship between victim incivility and emergency workers' burnout through work-to-family conflict

“…, 2022). In this view, social support may be a protective factor as it can weaken the effects of stressful situations on health outcomes by reducing the emotional burden of stressful events (Betke et al. , 2021) and feelings of isolation (Velando-Soriano et al.…”