Centrality of the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent post-traumatic growth in nurses: Exploring the moderating role of social connectedness

BackgroundIn the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses may report positive transformations due to the struggles faced during the outbreak, but the factors explaining this phenomenon remain understudied.ObjectiveConsidering the crucial role played by social ties and support to overcome adversity, the present research aims to explore social connectedness as a moderator between centrality of the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent post-traumatic growth (PTG) in nurses. Specifically, the study sought to examine whether the longitudinal association between centrality of the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent nurses' PTG differed according to the levels of social connectedness.MethodsThe global sample was composed of 180 nurses working in Portuguese healthcare institutions who answered online self-report surveys at two time points (baseline [T1] and follow-up at 6 months [T2]). Using self-report questionnaires, measures of centrality of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and social connectedness were administered at the baseline, and PTG reports were obtained at the six-month follow-up. Attrition rate from T1 to T2 was 73%.ResultsResults showed that social connectedness was a significant moderator in the relationship between centrality of the COVID-19 outbreak and PTG, with that association being stronger as the levels of social connectedness increased.ConclusionsThese findings shed light on the importance of social connectedness in fostering PTG among nurses after the COVID-19 outbreak. Psychological interventions aimed at enhancing nurses' constructive adjustment outcomes should acknowledge the occurrence of resilience and promote feelings of social connectedness and safeness to amplify potentially adaptive effects of the transformative nature of the pandemic.