Mediating Role of Health Anxiety in the Relationship between Feelings of Loneliness and Personality Traits among Nurses

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Psychology, Imam Khomeini International University of Psychology, Qazvin, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran

Abstract

Background: Health anxiety has been correlated with life satisfaction, personality, and alexithymia in junior college nursing students.
 
Objectives: The present study sought to provide a model of the relationship between feelings of loneliness and personality traits with the mediating role of health anxiety among nurses.
 
Methods: According to the data collection method, this research was part of a descriptive-correlational study performed using path analysis. The statistical population included all nurses at Ibn Sina, Omid, and Erfan hospitals in Tehran in 2022. A total of 300 nurses were selected via the convenience sampling method and completed the Loneliness Scale, The Five-Factor Personality Inventory, and Short Health Anxiety Inventory. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software and Smart PLS3.
 
Results: The results demonstrated that extroversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness had a direct impact on health anxiety and loneliness (P<0.05). The mediating role of health anxiety was confirmed in the link between extroversion and loneliness, as well as between agreeableness and loneliness (P<0.05). Nonetheless, the indirect effect of conscientiousness on loneliness through health anxiety was found to be non-significant (P<0.05). Overall, the model showed a good fit, indicating that personality traits and health anxiety play a significant role in determining nurses' feelings of loneliness (P<0.05).
 
Conclusion: A thorough understanding of health-related aspects of nurses can assist mental health researchers and managers in developing and implementing precise and efficient psychosocial interventions.  

Keywords


Acknowledgments

This study is extracted from the first author's MSC thesis. The researcher would like to thank all the nurses in Ibn Sina Hospital Region 2, Omid Region 5, and Erfan Region 2 in Tehran.

 

Availability of data and materials: The corresponding author can provide the information upon request, either during the submission process or after the publication of the article.

 

 

Conflicts of interests: The authors declared no conflict of interest.

 

Consent for publication: The Publisher must receive the signed Consent to Publish in order to obtain author permission to publish the Work.

 

Ethics approval and consent to participate: The Ethics Committee of Imam Khomeini International University approved the study (IR.IKhIU.REC.1401.055). The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki Declaration.

 

Financial disclosure: The authors declared that this research was not funded.

 

Author contributions: M.C.: Contributed to the conception of the work, revising the draft, approving the final version of the manuscript, and agreeing on all aspects of the work; Z.M.: Contributed to the data analysis and interpretation, critical revision, and approval of the final version of the manuscript; M.C.: Contributed to acquiring data, drafting the manuscript, and approving the final version; Z.M and S. K.: Contributed to the conception and design of the study, critical revision, and approval of the manuscript's final version; B.B. N.N.: Contributed to the conception and design of the study, data interpretation, drafting of the manuscript and critical revision, and approval of final version.

 

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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