Associação entre autoeficácia geral e percebida e condições de saúde mental de residentes de Enfermagem

Abstract

Objective: To assess whether general self-efficacy beliefs can influence stress; anxiety and depressive symptoms of nurses attending a Lato-Sensu postgraduate course, multidisciplinary residency as well as in the health professional field. Methods: A cross-sectional study was developed with 278 nurses living in the national territory. The sample was non-probabilistic for convenience, using the snowball methodology. The following instruments were used to collect data: Sociodemographic Characterization, General and Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Professionals were invited to participate in the study through the virtual social networks WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and e-mail. Data collection took place from December 2022 to April 2023, using Google Forms. The sample characterization variables were analyzed descriptively, using absolute and relative frequencies, position measurements (mean and median) and dispersion (variance and standard deviation). The Spearman correlation test was used to analyze the correlation between perceived general self-efficacy and symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression. The significance level adopted was 5%. Results: Nurses attended residency in the Southeast (38.1%), South (24.1%), Northeast (20.9%), Central-West (16.6%) and North (0.4%) regions. The DASS-21 revealed minimal stress scores (18.79 points) and moderate anxiety (11.53 points) and depression (14.49 points) scores. A significant portion of the sample presented severe and very severe symptoms of stress (25%), anxiety (33%) and depression (29%). The general and perceived self-efficacy of resident nurses was average, with an average score of 34.06 points. Self-efficacy was negatively correlated with symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression. The values suggested a weak correlation between self-efficacy and stress and anxiety and a moderate correlation between self-efficacy and depression. Conclusion: Most Brazilian nursing residents had symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression, as well as reports of work overload and mental health problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Levels of general and perceived selfefficacy were moderate, and self-efficacy beliefs were negatively correlated with symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression. This study has contributed to the advancement of knowledge in the area of mental health, as it has identified vulnerabilities and singularities in a population that has been little studied, as well as providing subsides for a closer look by educational institutions; in the sense of helping resident nurses in a challenging transition phase, strengthening self-efficacy beliefs and other positive mental pillars.