Severity of insomnia and stress perception as a chained mediator between perceived social support and somatic symptoms in Chinese's nurses

Abstract

Background

Social support is crucial for reducing nurses' somatic symptoms and insomnia, which are linked to stress perception. Understanding these relationships can help explain somatic symptom mechanisms in nursing staff.

Methods

We studied 293 front-line nurses using scales for perceived stress, social support, insomnia severity, and somatic symptoms. We analyzed the data with Pearson correlations and SPSS mediation model.

Results

Greater perceived social support was associated with fewer somatic symptoms, lower insomnia severity, and less perceived stress. Insomnia severity was linked to stress perception and somatic symptoms. Stress perception also correlated with somatic symptoms. Social support indirectly predicted somatic symptoms through insomnia severity and stress perception, explaining 6.62% of the total effect.

Conclusion

Social support indirectly affects somatic symptoms in nurses, with insomnia severity and stress perception playing a mediating role. This finding highlights the importance of addressing these factors to reduce somatic symptoms in nursing staff.