Emotion
How Geriatric Nurses Manage Daily Emotions and Stress
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
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.
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
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
Key findings
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.
Methodology
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.
Limitations
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.
How this study connects
Role on claims
Each row is a claim on a concept or method page where this paper supports, challenges, or qualifies the statement. Roles are hand-checked — not a model guess.
While retrospective trait questionnaires link cognitive reappraisal to reduced global negative affect and improved well-being, a daily diary study tracking real-time emotional adjustments in high-stress roles found that managing daily negative emotions had no significant short-term daily impact on stress or well-being.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Expressive suppression is generally associated with reduced positive affect, higher daily stress, and increased depressive symptoms, although its negative effects are not uniform across all individuals.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Suppressing positive emotional expressions on a daily basis is associated with higher daily stress and reduced overall well-being.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
There is a discrepancy regarding whether managing negative emotions impacts daily outcomes; longitudinal research on older adults links general emotional suppression to higher depressive symptoms and stress, whereas daily diary research in nurses indicates that managing negative emotions has no significant daily effect on stress or well-being.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Open questions
Tensions this paper is part of
From concept pages' “where studies disagree.” Disagreement means the same question; scope means different assays, populations, or outcomes.
While retrospective trait questionnaires link cognitive reappraisal to reduced global negative affect and improved well-being, a daily diary study tracking real-time emotional adjustments in high-stress roles found that managing daily negative emotions had no significant short-term daily impact on stress or well-being.
There is a discrepancy regarding whether managing negative emotions impacts daily outcomes; longitudinal research on older adults links general emotional suppression to higher depressive symptoms and stress, whereas daily diary research in nurses indicates that managing negative emotions has no significant daily effect on stress or well-being.
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