Exploring relationships between psychological capital and perceived stress among newly graduated nurses

Abstract

<p>Stress among the newly graduated nurses has been linked to physical and emotional distress, high turnover rates, and the quality of patient care. Psychological capital is a positive state of mind that consists of four components (hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism). Higher levels of psychological capital have been linked to improvements in the work environment, and the psychological and emotional state of nurses. Despite the extensive work of researchers exploring psychological capital among nurses, its relationship to stress among new graduate nurses has not been well studied. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to explore the relationship between the components of psychological capital (efficacy, optimism, hope, resilience) and the perceived level of stress among newly graduated nurses with a maximum of one year of practice. The job-demand resource model was used to frame this study. Perceived stress was measured using the Nursing Stress Scale and psychological capital was measured using the PsyCap scale. Spearman&rsquo;s rho and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data. A total of 144 new graduate nurses participated in the study. There was a moderate negative association between efficacy, hope, resilience components of psychological capital and stress (<em>p</em> &lt; .001), however, the only significant predictor of a reduction in stress was hope (<em>p</em> &lt; .001). The study contributes to positive social change by providing organizations with an understanding of psychological capital and how it mitigates perceived stress among new graduate nurses; this information can be used to develop programs that ultimately result in reduced stress and turnover.</p>