Abstract
BACKGROUND: All healthcare professionals are potentially susceptible to becoming second victims of adverse events during the course of their careers. Nurses, as second victims, frequently encounter a series of distressing experiences, including anxiety, depression, tension, fear, sleep disorders, and occupational burnout. However, no studies have yet explored the relationships among distressing experiences, received support, and psychological capital in the context of nurses as second victims. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the impact of received support on distressing experiences and verify the mediating role of psychological capital in this relationship. METHODS: A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted among clinical nurses with a history of adverse events in the past year from six medical institutions in Xuzhou, China. A total of 422 valid questionnaires were collected. The data were collected using the Social-demographic Questionnaire, the Nurse Psychological Capital Scale, and the Second Victim Experience and Support Scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 22.0). RESULTS: The findings of this study revealed a statistically significant correlation between the support received by nurses after adverse events and their distressing experiences (r = 0.359, p < 0.01). Furthermore, significant correlations were identified between received support and psychological capital (r = -0.326, p < 0.01), as well as between psychological capital and distressing experiences (r = -0.434, p < 0.01). Additionally, the results confirmed that psychological capital exerted a partial mediating effect on the relationship between received support and distressing experiences, with the mediating effect size reaching 0.152, accounting for 32.27% of the total effect. CONCLUSIONS: After an adverse event, adequate support systems and high psychological capital can effectively mitigate negative emotions and distress in nurses as second victims. Hospital administrators should proactively foster a fair patient safety culture, provide support to second victims based on individual characteristics and adverse event specifics, and engage psychologists for professional counseling. Additionally, fostering nurses’ psychological capital can alleviate distress and promote nursing profession development. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.