ORIGINAL PAPER
Emotion regulation and mental health among professionals of long-term care institutions for older adults: The mediating role of work engagement
| 1 | Psychology Research Center, Department of Psychology, Autonomous University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal |
| 2 | William James Center for Research, ISPA – University Institute, Lisbon, Portugal |
| 3 | Center for Psychology at University of Porto, Porto, Portugal |
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Submission date: 2022-07-18
Final revision date: 2022-10-06
Acceptance date: 2022-11-03
Online publication date: 2022-11-30
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Background:
This study examined whether work engagement mediated the association between emotion regulation and mental health of professionals working in long-term care institutions for older adults in Brazil.
Participants and procedure:
A cross-sectional study with a total of 104 professionals working in 13 long-term care facilities for the elderly in Brazil was conducted. Emotion regulation (expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal), work engagement (vigor, dedication, and absorption), and mental health (depression, anxiety, and stress) were measured using self-report scales. Multiple me-diation models were used to test the mediating role of engagement.
Results:
Expressive suppression was associated with more vigor, which in turn was associated with less anxiety and stress; cognitive reappraisal was associated with more vigor, which in turn was associated with less anxiety and stress. No indirect effects were found for depression.
Conclusions:
Expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal strategies to regulate emotions seem to be associated with more vigor in terms of resilience and persistence to deal with work demands in these professionals. These results seem to suggest that workers who are more capable of regulating their emotions (using both expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal in a flexible way according to work demands) are more likely to be resilient, invest in their profession, and be persistent in the face of difficulties. This, in turn, contributes to protecting them from experiencing anxiety and stress.
This study examined whether work engagement mediated the association between emotion regulation and mental health of professionals working in long-term care institutions for older adults in Brazil.
Participants and procedure:
A cross-sectional study with a total of 104 professionals working in 13 long-term care facilities for the elderly in Brazil was conducted. Emotion regulation (expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal), work engagement (vigor, dedication, and absorption), and mental health (depression, anxiety, and stress) were measured using self-report scales. Multiple me-diation models were used to test the mediating role of engagement.
Results:
Expressive suppression was associated with more vigor, which in turn was associated with less anxiety and stress; cognitive reappraisal was associated with more vigor, which in turn was associated with less anxiety and stress. No indirect effects were found for depression.
Conclusions:
Expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal strategies to regulate emotions seem to be associated with more vigor in terms of resilience and persistence to deal with work demands in these professionals. These results seem to suggest that workers who are more capable of regulating their emotions (using both expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal in a flexible way according to work demands) are more likely to be resilient, invest in their profession, and be persistent in the face of difficulties. This, in turn, contributes to protecting them from experiencing anxiety and stress.
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