Patient Mistreatment and Depersonalization of Nurses: A Moderated Mediation Model of Person–Organization Fit and Resilience
Wei Yan, Shini Zhang, Di Xiao, Lu Tang, Huan Wang, Xin DuBackground
Mistreatment by patients frequently occurs, threatening the well‐being of nurses and the interests of medical organizations. However, insufficient research has been conducted to determine the mechanisms underlying the association between patient mistreatment and nurses’ depersonalization.
Objectives
This study aimed to investigate the effects of patient mistreatment on depersonalization in nurses, as well as the mediating role of person‐organization fit and the moderating role of trait resilience.
Methods
We conducted a cross‐sectional survey and adopted convenience sampling to recruit nurses from the Hematology Specialist Alliance of Chongqing. The formal online survey was distributed via Wenjuanxing from October to November 2022, and the platform was configured to allow only one submission per IP address. In total, 1627 nurses completed the online survey. The data were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis and the bootstrap method to test mediation and moderation effects.
Results
Patient mistreatment was negatively associated with person–organization fit ( β = −0.164, p < 0.001) and positively related to depersonalization ( β = 0.584, p < 0.001). Person–organization fit was negatively associated with depersonalization ( β = −0.368, p < 0.001) and partially mediated the relationship between patient mistreatment and depersonalization (indirect effect = 0.0602, 95% CI [0.0346, 0.0882]). The indirect association linking patient mistreatment to depersonalization via person–organization fit differed by resilience level (Index = −0.0208, 95% CI [−0.0382, −0.0076]), with smaller magnitude associations observed at higher resilience.
Conclusion
This study illustrates that nurses who experience patient mistreatment may perceive a decrease in the degree of person–organization fit and become depersonalized; however, nurses with higher resilience are less exposed to such adverse effects.
Implications for Nursing Management
Supportive work environments and resilience training programs should be provided to improve nurses’ coping capabilities when facing patient mistreatment.