Prediction of Psychological Distress and Job Performance of Nurses Based on Maladaptive Daydreaming and Social Loneliness during the Covid 19 Epidemic

During the outbreak of the Covid-19 disease, people may resort to maladaptive strategies that can lead to psychological distress and disrupt their social and occupational functions; therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the prediction of psychological distress and nurses' job performance based on maladaptive daydreaming and social loneliness during the covid-19 epidemic.

The method of this study was descriptive-correlation. The statistical population of the research was all the nurses working in the hospitals of Kermanshah city in the first quarter of 2022, and 230 of them were selected through available sampling. In order to collect data, maladaptive daydreaming scale (MDS–16), social loneliness scale, Job Performance Questionnaire, and Kessler's psychological distress questionnaire were used. The collected data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient and multivariate regression analysis in SPSS-24 software.

The results showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between maladaptive daydreaming and social loneliness with nurses' psychological distress (p<0.01). There is a negative and significant relationship between maladaptive daydreaming and social loneliness with nurses' job performance (p<0.01). The results of multiple regression analysis also revealed that 45% of the variance of psychological distress and 65.8% of the variance of job performance is explained by maladaptive daydreaming and social loneliness.

The findings showed that during the outbreak of covid-19, the tendency of MD in people and especially in nurses to lock themselves in the world of fantasy is intensified, which in turn contributes to alienation in social relationships and social isolation, which in turn contributes to the intensification of daydreaming. And as a result, it brings psychological distress and disruption in daily and job performance; therefore, in order to prevent and design suitable interventions in this field, it is important to pay attention to MD and social isolation.