Predictors of psychological well-being of nurses in Alexandria, Egypt.

As nursing has been previously identified as a stressful occupation, sources of job stress and levels of job satisfaction were extensively investigated. However, studies addressing issues of nurses' mental health are scarce. This work aims to assess psychological well-being of nurses in different job settings in Alexandria and to identify sociodemographic, psychosocial and workplace predictors. A total sample of 412 nurses represented nurses working in five different health organizations in Alexandria. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic, occupational and health data, and the Standardized Arabic Version of General Health questionnaire (GHQ-30 items), Job Descriptive Index (JDI), and Social Support Scale (SSS) were also used. Results revealed that 21.67% of nurses recorded moderate to severe psychological symptoms on GHQ. Fewer years of experience, negative family and friend support, and negative total work satisfaction were found to be significant predictors of psychological ill health among nurses in a descending rank order. Implications for nursing intervention will be discussed.