Psychological resilience, job satisfaction, and anxiety symptoms in private hospital healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background Healthcare workers in private hospitals may experience substantial psychological challenges due to demanding work environments and organizational characteristics. Psychological resilience has been recognized as an important personal resource associated with psychological wellbeing, whereas job satisfaction represents a key motivational factor related to occupational functioning. However, the relationships among psychological resilience, job satisfaction, and anxiety symptoms among healthcare workers in private hospitals remain insufficiently understood. This study aimed to examine the associations between psychological resilience, job satisfaction, and anxiety symptoms, and to explore whether job satisfaction statistically explains the association between psychological resilience and anxiety symptoms. Methods A multicenter cross-sectional survey was conducted among healthcare workers from 10 private hospitals in Lanzhou, China. Participants were recruited using a convenience sampling approach. Psychological resilience, job satisfaction, and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), a newly developed 13-item job satisfaction scale, and the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), respectively. Descriptive analyses, correlation analyses, multiple linear regression analyses, and mediation analyses using bootstrap methods were performed to examine the associations among study variables. Results A total of 1,263 healthcare workers were included in the analysis. Psychological resilience was positively associated with job satisfaction and negatively associated with anxiety symptom scores (P < 0.001). Job satisfaction was also negatively associated with anxiety symptom scores (P < 0.001). Mediation analysis indicated that job satisfaction partially accounted for the association between psychological resilience and anxiety symptoms. Specifically, the indirect association through job satisfaction accounted for part of the association between psychological resilience and anxiety symptom scores. Conclusions Psychological resilience and job satisfaction were significantly associated with anxiety symptoms among healthcare workers in private hospitals. These findings highlight the potential relevance of personal psychological resources and job-related experiences in understanding healthcare workers' psychological wellbeing. However, longitudinal studies are needed to further clarify the directionality and causal mechanisms underlying these relationships.