Predicting Covid-19 Traumatic Stress and Post-Traumatic Growth in Nurses of Coronavirus Patient Care Unit Based on Perceived Social Support: The Mediating Role of Self-Compassion and Cognitive Emotion Regulation

The aim of the present study was to predict COVID-19 traumatic stress and posttraumatic growth in nurses of coronavirus patient care unit based on perceived social support considering the mediating role of self-compassion and cognitive emotion regulation. The present study is a descriptive correlation with the structural equation model and in terms of purpose is applied. The statistical population includes all nurses who worked in hospitals in Isfahan in 2021, of which 230 (143 female and 87 male) were selected through an available sample. Research instruments included the multidimensional perceived social support (MSPSS), self-compassion (SCS), cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire (CERQ), posttraumatic growth inventory (PGI), and COVID-19 traumatic stress scale (CTSS). Descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling as well as SPSS-23 and Amos-23 were used to analyze the data. Results showed that perceived social support directly and indirectly through matched cognitive emotion regulation strategies and self-compassion had a positive effect on posttraumatic growth (β = 0.228, P < 0.01) and a negative effect on COVID-19 traumatic stress (β = -0.316, P < 0.01), whereas the relationship between non-matched cognitive emotion regulation strategies and posttraumatic growth was not significant (P < 0.05). The research findings not only have practical and theoretical implications, but also can be used as a useful model to provide nurses with adequate services to pave the way for growth and development after trauma and prevent covid-19 traumatic stress.