Meaning In Life And Its Related Psychosocial Factors In ICU Nurses

Objective By means of investigating the level of meaning in life among ICU nurses,and exploring its correlations in the perspective of demographic sociological factors,self-concept clarity,positive and negative emotions,perceived social support and work stress,the author is aiming to promote targeted interventions on the level of meaning in life among ICU nurses.Methods A convenient sampling method was adopted.From the beginning of February 2021 to the end of October 2021,441 ICU nurses from a third-level grade-A general hospital in Shandong Province were selected as the survey subjects.The general information questionnaire,the Chinese version of the meaning of life scale,the clarity of self-concept scale,positive and negative affect scale,perceived social support scale and Chinese Nurses Job Stressor Scale for evaluation.Software of SPSS 26.0 was used for statistical analysis.Statistical methods include independent sample t-test,Pearson correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis,etc.;Software of AMOS 24.0 was used to analyze the action path of related influencing factors.Results1.The level of meaning in life among ICU nurses and their differences in demographic and sociological variablesThe average score of the meaning in life among ICU nurses was 4.77±0.93,4.81±1.28 for the meaning of existence and 4.72±1.13 for seeking meaning,all scores are higher than 4 points(the median score of the item).The ICU nurses who meet at least one of following conditions such as older age,married,procreated,long time ICU nursing experience,higher professional title and position,working as formal employees and without work night shifts had higher scores of meaning in life and the dimensions of sense of existence owing;The scores of meaning in life and seeking meaning dimension in ICU male nurses were higher than those in female nurses.2.Correlation between meaning in life and psychosocial factors among ICU nurses.The total score of the ICU nurses meaning in life and the scores of sense of existence dimension with self-concept clarity,positive emotions,perceived social support were positively correlated,with negative emotions and work stress were negatively correlated(all P<0.001),the seeking meaning dimension was positively associated with positive emotion and work stress and negatively associated with self-concept clarity(all P<0.01).3.Hierarchical regression analysis of influencing factors related to ICU nurses’ meaning in lifeTaking the total scores and sub-dimensions of meaning in life among ICU nurses as dependent variables,the statistically different sociodemographic data in the above single factor analysis were used as the first-level control variables,and the statistically different psychological factors were used as the second-level control variables.In the perspective of meaning in life,the second layer of perceived social support,positive emotions and negative emotions have a statistical effect on the meaning in life,and the interpretation of the impact of all variables at this level on the meaning in life significance is 36.9%.In the perspective of meaning of existence,the second level including self-concept clarity,perceived social support,positive emotions and negative emotion have a statistical effect on the meaning of existence,and the interpretation of the impact of all variables at this level on the meaning of existence significance is 58%.In the perspective of seeking meaning,the clarity of self-concept,positive emotions and work stress have a statistical effect on the seeking meaning,and the interpretation of the impact of all variables at this level on the seeking meaning significance is 10.1%.4.Analysis of the action path of ICU nurses’ meaning in life related factorsFor the meaning in life,the indirect effect of work stress through positive and negative emotions was(-0.159);The direct effect of perceived social support was(0.146),and the indirect effect through positive and negative emotions was(0.158);The indirect effect of self-concept clarity mediated by negative emotion was(0.099);The direct effect of positive emotion was(0.405);The direct effect of negative emotion was(-0.189).In the perspective of meaning of existence,the indirect effect of work stress through positive and negative emotions was(-0.136);The direct effect of perceived social support was(0.154),and the indirect effect through positive and negative emotion was(0.135);The direct effect of self-concept clarity was(0.331),and the indirect effect mediated by negative emotion was(0.064);The direct effect of positive emotion was(0.360);The direct effect of negative emotion was(-0.122).In the perspective of seeking meaning,The indirect effect of perceived social support through positive emotion was(0.102);The direct effect of self-concept clarity was(-0.166);The direct effect of positive emotion was(0.305).1.The sense of meaning in life of ICU nurses was at the upper-middle level.2.ICU nurses’ self-concept clarity,positive and negative emotions,perceived social support,work stress and meaning in life and various dimensions have varying degrees of correlation.3.ICU nurses’ self-concept clarity,perceived social support and work stress can indirectly predict the total score and score dimension of ICU nurses’ sense of life through positive and negative emotion,which provides a theoretical basis for the development of targeted interventions to improve ICU nurses’ meaning in life.