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Relations among depression, self‐efficacy and optimism in a sample of nurses in Taiwan
Author(s) -
CHANG YUHSUAN,
WANG PENGCHIH,
LI HUNGHUI,
LIU YICHUNG
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of nursing management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1365-2834
pISSN - 0966-0429
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2010.01180.x
Subject(s) - optimism , depression (economics) , self efficacy , nursing , nursing management , psychology , clinical psychology , medicine , social psychology , economics , macroeconomics
chang y., wang p.‐c., li h.‐h.&liu y.‐c. (2011) Journal of Nursing Management 19, 769–776
Relations among depression, self‐efficacy and optimism in a sample of nurses in Taiwan Aims The present study investigated the level of depression among hospital nurses, to examine personality contributions to depression and to offer managers relevant organizational strategies to reduce levels of depression. Background The World Health Organization’s Global Burden of Disease Study estimates that major depression is the leading cause of disability among women in the world today. It is surprising that there is a relative dearth of research investigating depression among nursing staff. Method A cross‐sectional survey of 314 staff nurses in a general hospital in Taiwan. Participants completed a set of questionnaires and a demographic information form. A number of statistical methods were used including descriptive statistics, product‐moment correlations and multiple regression analysis. Results In all, 52.5% of nurses reported mild‐to‐moderate depressive symptoms. Self‐efficacy and optimism were significant buffers against depression. Conclusions The results of the present study confirm the importance of self‐efficacy and optimism. Nurses with positive evaluation and expectation towards their self and others tend to report lower depression levels. Implications for Nursing Management The results of the present study indicate that there is an immediate need to pay further attention to nurses’ depression issues. It is therefore suggested that Nursing Managers take an empowering approach to strengthen nurses’ self‐efficacy and optimism levels to prevent depression in this profession.