Characteristics and cellular and molecular biomechanical influencing factors of resilience: A cross-sectional study of nurses experiencing workplace violence in Jiangsu China

Objective: To investigate the resilience status of nurses after workplace violence and its influencing factors from the perspective of cellular and molecular biomechanics. Methods: From April to July 2024, a cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted utilizing the General Information Questionnaire, the Medical Staff Resilience Scale (MSRS), the Workplace Violence Scale (WVS), the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), and the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS) on a sample of 375 nurses who had been victims of workplace violence at six tertiary-level A general hospitals and three secondary-level hospitals in Jiangsu Province, China. The data were subsequently analyzed. Results: The nurses’ resilience score was (72.37 ± 10.19) with a mean score of (4.02 ± 0.57). Multiple regression analysis showed that age, work experience, title, monthly income, self-efficacy, and social support independently influenced their resilience. (P < 0.05). Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between carers’ levels of resilience with generic self-efficacy scale and social support (P < 0.01), and a negative correlation of resilience with workplace violence (P < 0.01). Conclusion: The resilience scores of nurses who had suffered workplace violence were found to be at a moderate level. Stressors from workplace violence might trigger complex intracellular signaling pathways and molecular changes in nerve cells and endocrine cells of nurses. Hormonal imbalances could further affect neurotransmitter systems and molecular cascades related to mood regulation and stress adaptation, thereby influencing the nurses’ resilience. Higher self-efficacy could potentially enhance the activation of positive molecular pathways and the expression of certain genes related to stress resistance. Social support might buffer the negative impacts of workplace violence on cellular and molecular mechanisms by providing additional resources and positive molecular signals. It is recommended that managers consider the effects of age, years of work experience, job title, and monthly income when developing strategies to enhance resilience. It is also the responsibility of managers to facilitate the mobilization of resources, both internal and external, related to self-efficacy and social support. Furthermore, they should construct targeted training courses based on an analysis of the mechanisms involved in the occurrence of workplace violence, to improve the resilience of nurses.