Work-family conflict and anxiety among nurses of the maternal and child health institutions: the mediating role of job satisfaction

• Published in: Frontiers in public health Vol. 11; p. 1108384
• Main Authors: Zhao, Lipei, Wu, Jian, Ye, Beizhu, Tarimo, Clifford Silver, Li, Quanman, Ma, Mingze, Feng, Yifei, Guo, Xinghong, Song, Yalin, Zhang, Minghan, Fan, Yuanyuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 30.06.2023
• Subjects: Anxiety; Child; Child Health; Cross-Sectional Studies; Family Conflict; Female; Humans; Job Satisfaction; maternal and child health institution; Nurses; Pregnancy; Public Health; work–family conflict; anxiety; nurses; work–family conflict; job satisfaction; maternal and child health institution
• ISSN: 2296-2565; 2296-2565
• DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1108384

Over the past decades, anxiety has garnered significant attention from nursing population. Investigations have centered on the correlation between work-family conflict (WFC) and anxiety as well as the link between job satisfaction and anxiety among nurses. However, the role of job satisfaction plays in the relationship between work-family conflict and anxiety remains relatively unexplored. In April 2021, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among nurses (  = 3,770) working at the maternal and child health institutions in Henan province, China. Multiple linear regression model was used to explore the factors associated with anxiety. Model 4 in Hayes's PROCESS macro and Bootstrap method was performed to examine the mediating role of job satisfaction in the relationship between work-family conflict and anxiety. The median (interquartile range) anxiety score was 5.00 (6.00). Work-family conflict was shown to be significantly correlated to job satisfaction (  = -0.517, 0.001) and anxiety (  = 0.457,  < 0.01). There was a strong negative correlation between job satisfaction and anxiety (  = -0.379,  < 0.01). The study also found that nurses aged 31-40 years, those with a junior college education (  = 0.001), those with an undergraduate or above education (  < 0.001), those who reported experiencing work-family conflict (  < 0.001), and those with lower job satisfaction (  < 0.001) were more likely to experience anxiety. Additionally, job satisfaction partially ( *  = 20.90%) mediated the relationship between work-family conflict and anxiety. The association between work-family conflict and anxiety among nurses in maternity and child health institutions was moderated by job satisfaction. Therefore, it is critical to enhance working conditions, minimize work-family conflict, and promoting job satisfaction among nurses may help to mitigate the negative effects of work-family conflict on anxiety.