Optimism and distress tolerance in the social adjustment of nurses: examining resilience as a mediator and gender as a moderator

Background As nursing is recognised as one of the most stressful occupations in healthcare organisations, nurses are vulnerable to adjustment challenges. Aims The authors examine the association between optimism, distress tolerance and social adjustment through the mediating role of resilience and the moderating role of gender among Iranian nurses. Methods The sample consisted of 183 nurses working in six private hospitals in Iran. The authors employed structural equation modelling to test a moderation–mediation model of social adjustment. Results Findings reveal that: (a) resilience partially mediates the association between distress tolerance and social adjustment and the link between optimism and social adjustment – nurses with high levels of optimism and distress tolerance are significantly more likely to report greater resilience and subsequently report higher social adjustment; and (b) gender plays a moderating role in the model – women reported higher levels of optimism and lower levels of both resilience and distress tolerance than men. However, men reported higher levels of both distress tolerance and resilience as well as better social adjustment in comparison to female nurses. Conclusions The promotion of resilience may contribute to increased social adjustment, optimism and distress tolerance at work.