Connor Davidson resilience scores, perceived organizational support and workplace violence among emergency nurses

Background

Workplace violence can threaten the physical and mental health of emergency nurses, increasing their mobility and burnout rates. However, little research has focused on how to mitigate the negative effects of workplace violence.

Objectives

To investigate the relationships among resilience scores, perceived organizational support, and workplace violence and to explore the mediating role of perceived organizational support in the relationship between resilience scores and workplace violence among emergency nurses.

Research design

A quantitative, cross-sectional study.

Methods

From June to July 2023, 466 valid questionnaires were collected via the WeChat app Credamo Seeing Numbers. Participants were assessed using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Perceived Organizational Support Scale, and the Fear of Future Violence at Work Scale.

Ethical consideration

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hunan Normal University (No. 2023-389).

Findings

The Connor-Davidson resilience scores of emergency nurses were negatively associated with workplace violence and positively associated with emergency nurses’ perceived organizational support. Emergency nurses’ perceived organizational support was negatively associated with workplace violence. Perceived organizational support moderated the relationship between Connor-Davidson resilience scores and workplace violence among emergency nurses to some extent.

Discussion

High levels of Connor-Davidson resilience scores can mitigate the negative effects of workplace violence. Perceived organizational support can increase with increasing levels of Connor-Davidson resilience scores. When nurses face workplace violence, support from the organization can, on the one hand, reduce the negative impacts of stress and, on the other hand, elicit positive emotions.

Conclusion

To mitigate the effects of workplace violence on emergency nurses, interventions aimed at both internal and external organizational conditions must be developed to establish a supportive environment that can increase emergency nurses’ Connor-Davidson resilience scores and sense of perceived organizational support, and decrease workplace violence.