The Mediating Role of Emotion Management, Self-Efficacy and Emotional Intelligence in Clinical Nurses Related to Negative Psychology and Burnout

OBJECTIVE: To explore the influence of negative psychology and burnout in clinical nurses, and to analyse the mediating role between self-efficacy and emotional intelligence in emotion management. METHODS: From January 2022 to December 2022, 12,704 clinical nurses from 32 general hospitals in Hunan Province were selected as research participants by convenience sampling. Negative psychology, emotion management, self-efficacy, emotional intelligence and burnout in clinical nurses were measured, and structural equation models were constructed to explore their impact on burnout in clinical nurses. RESULTS: Clinical nurses’ negative psychology had a positive effect on burnout (β=0.60, 95% CI: 0.63–0.66), emotional intelligence (β=˗0.08, 95% CI: ˗0.10, ˗0.06) and the self-efficacy of emotion management (β=−0.60, 95% CI: ˗0.05, ˗0.03) on burnout. Moreover, emotional intelligence and emotion management self-efficacy played a mediating role between negative psychology and burnout in nurses. CONCLUSION: Clinical nurses’ negative psychology had a positive impact on burnout, and emotional intelligence and the self-efficacy of emotion management could alleviate the influence of negative psychology on burnout among nurses. Nurses’ emotional intelligence and emotion management self-efficacy can be improved through practical training to help them cope with emotionally loaded situations and reduce stress responses.