Cognitive emotion regulation strategies and social support as predictors of perceived stress in nursing staff

Background The present study aimed to explore the relationships among cognitive emotion regulation strategy, social support, and perceived stress. It also sought to identify differences in cognitive emotion regulation strategies between nurses with low stress scores and those with high stress. Additionally, it sought to examine the predictive effects of these strategies and social support on perceived stress. Methods In this cross-sectional survey, data were collected from 454 nurses working in hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Mage = 35.84 years; SDage = 4.69 years). The instruments used included the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). Results The results indicated that perceived stress was positively associated with negative emotion regulation strategies and negatively associated with positive emotion regulation strategies, self-support, objective support, and support utilization. Additionally, there were statistically significant differences in cognitive emotion regulation strategies and social support scores between the nurses with low stress group and those with high stress. Multiple regression analysis revealed that cognitive emotion regulation strategies and social support dimensions significantly predicted perceived stress levels. Conclusions These findings suggest that nurses who adopt positive emotion regulation strategies experience lower stress levels, while those who tend to use negative emotion regulation strategies are more likely to have higher stress levels. Overall, cognitive emotion regulation strategies and social support significantly predict perceived stress. This study offers new perspectives for policy-making in healthcare organizations aimed at promoting positive cognitive emotion regulation strategies among nurses and enhancing their social support, which could ultimately reduce stress levels.