How Geriatric Nurses Manage Daily Emotions and Stress
On days when geriatric nurses actively boosted their positive emotions, they experienced higher well-being and lower stress, whereas holding back positive expressions had the opposite effect.
Source
Emotion Regulation, Subjective Well-Being, and Perceived Stress in Daily Life of Geriatric Nurses
Study at a glance
- Design
- Other — Daily diary study of emotion-regulation strategies over three consecutive weeks
- N
- N=89 · Convenience sample of professional geriatric nurses
- Population
- Professional geriatric nurses
- Outcome
- Daily wellbeing and stress linked to reappraisal and suppression of emotions
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How Geriatric Nurses Manage Daily Emotions and Stress
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89 professional geriatric nurses participated in the study
Participants consisted of a convenience sample of geriatric nurses ( N = 89).
Participants tracked over three consecutive weeks
A sample of adults who have an emotionally challenging profession, namely geriatric nursing, have participated in the study over three consecutive weeks.
What they did
Researchers tracked 89 professional geriatric nurses over three consecutive weeks using daily end-of-day paper diaries. Each day, participants reported their daily use of emotion regulation strategies, specifically cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression for both positive and negative emotions. They also rated their daily levels of stress, positive and negative feelings, and overall mental well-being.
What they found
On days when nurses boosted positive emotions, they reported higher positive feelings and lower stress, with negative affect decreasing by an estimate of -0.09. Conversely, suppressing positive emotions was linked to worse well-being and increased daily stress, with negative affect rising by an estimate of 0.10. Managing negative emotions had no significant daily effects on well-being or stress.
The limits
What it doesn't show
Because the researchers used correlational daily diary data, this study cannot prove that emotion regulation strategies directly caused changes in well-being or stress. Additionally, the study relied on paper-and-pencil diaries completed at the end of the day, which can introduce recall bias and lacks objective verification of when participants actually filled them out. Lastly, the findings from this healthy sample of 89 Swiss caregivers might not generalize to clinical populations or other high-stress jobs.
Key terms
- Cognitive Reappraisal
- An emotion regulation strategy that involves changing how one thinks about a situation to alter its emotional impact.
- Expressive Suppression
- An emotion regulation strategy focused on active inhibition of outward emotional behaviors, such as facial expressions or gestures.
- Within-Person Variability
- Fluctuations in an individual's thoughts, feelings, or behaviors from one day to the next, relative to their own average.
- Subjective Well-Being
- An individual's self-reported evaluation of their own life, consisting of both emotional reactions and cognitive satisfaction.
- Geriatric Nurse
- A healthcare professional who specializes in caring for elderly patients.
- Daily Diary Study
- A research method where participants report on their experiences, behaviors, and moods at the end of each day for a set period.
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According to Gross's process-oriented model, when do cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression typically come into play during an emotional episode?
Common questions
Why did the researchers focus specifically on positive emotions rather than negative ones?
While many studies focus on managing negative emotions, this study highlights that actively cultivating and expressing positive emotions is particularly crucial for maintaining well-being and reducing stress in high-demand caregiving environments.
Does this study prove that hiding negative emotions is harmless?
No. Although the study found no immediate daily link between managing negative emotions and well-being, hiding negative feelings might still have long-term consequences or affect interpersonal relationships in ways this study did not capture.
Did the nurses' work schedules affect their stress levels?
Yes, the researchers controlled for schedules and found that days off were strongly associated with lower stress and higher well-being, while working nightshifts was linked to higher perceived stress.
Could the nurses have lied or misremembered their daily diaries?
Yes, since the study relied on self-reports filled out at the end of the day without electronic time-stamps, participants might have suffered from recall bias or completed multiple diaries at once.
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