Role of Psychological Distress and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation in the prediction of Post-Traumatic Stress in Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

2 Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran

3 M.A. in Clinical Psychology, Payame Noor University, South Tehran, Tehran, Iran

4 M.A of Clinical Psychology of Children and Adolescents, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

5 Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses experienced a variety of psychological traumas due to their close encounters with patients.
 
Objectives: In this regard, the present study aimed to investigate the role of psychological distress and difficulty in emotion regulation in the prediction of post-traumatic stress in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Methods: The present study was conducted based on a descriptive correlational design. The statistical population of the study consisted of male and female nurses working in medical centers in the fifth and sixth districts of Tehran in 2021. A sample of 300 nurses was selected via the convenience sampling method, and the data were then collected using the questionnaires of post-traumatic stress disorder, psychological distress, and difficulty in emotion regulation.
 
Results: Based on the results, post-traumatic stress was significantly positively correlated with depression, anxiety, stress, rejection of emotional responses, impulse control difficulties, lack of emotional awareness, difficulty in performing purposeful behavior, limited access to emotional regulation strategies, and emotional state (P<0.01). The results of multiple regression analysis also illustrated that psychological distress and difficulty in emotion regulation predicted 75% of post-traumatic stress in nurses.
 
Conclusion: The results indicate that post-traumatic stress disorder was significantly correlated with psychological distress and difficulty in emotion regulation in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the fact that nurses have been infected with this deadly virus since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and experienced a lot of stress, it is necessary to take measures to improve their mental health.

Keywords

Open Access Policy: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Razavi International Journal of Medicine
Volume 10, Issue 4
December 2022
Pages 44-50

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