Effect of social support and coping strategies on the relationship between health care-related occupational stress and health

Abstract

The role of social support and individual coping strategies (problem-focused, emotion-focused) in the moderation of the relationship between health care-related occupational stress and health was examined in a survey of 212 midwives and nurses. Results indicate that neither of the coping strategies was influential, whereas social support levels were either detrimental or beneficial based on the reported level of job stress. High support in conjunction with high job stress was associated with poorer health. Conversely, when support was low, high stress was associated with better health. This implied that it was the level of overall social support in conjunction with the level of job stress that was associated with psychological and physical health levels. Subsequent to the findings of this research, a call to examine specific factors that may influence the personal formation of support networks (i.e., gender, causality), as well as causality, was emphasised.