Resilience and Social Support Protect Nurses from Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms: Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Study in the Post-COVID-19 Era

Background: Nurses experience high levels of anxiety and depression since they work in a highly stressful environment. Thus, the identification of preventive factors against nurses' anxiety and depression is essential to improve their quality of life. In this context, our aim was to examine the impact of resilience and social support on nurses' anxiety and depressive symptoms. Methods: A cross-sectional online study was implemented in Greece in September 2024. We used the Brief Resilience Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Patient Health Questionnaire-4 to measure resilience, social support, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, respectively. Results: Our sample included 677 nurses with a mean age of 37.73 years (standard deviation: 9.38). Our multivariable linear regression models identified a negative relationship between resilience and anxiety (adjusted standardized beta coefficient =-0.38; p < 0.001) and depressive symptoms (adjusted standardized beta coefficient = -0.36; p < 0.001). Similarly, we found that significant others' support was associated with reduced anxiety (adjusted standardized beta coefficient = -0.27; p < 0.001) and depressive symptoms (adjusted standardized beta coefficient = -0.23; p < 0.001). The standardized beta coefficient indicated that resilience has a greater impact on anxiety and depressive symptoms than significant others' support. Conclusions: Our findings suggest resilience and social support have a protective function against nurses' anxiety and depressive symptoms. Managers and policymakers should adopt appropriate interventions to improve nurses' resilience and social support and, thus, to improve their mental health and quality of life.