• Klaus-Helmut Schmidt and Stefan Diestel.
• Leibniz-Research Centre for Working, Environment and Human Factors, Technical University of Dortmund, Germany.
• J Adv Nurs. 2013 Oct 1; 69 (10): 2185-95.

AimsTo examine the role of two personal resources (active, problem-focused coping; self-efficacy beliefs) in the relation between job demands and strain.BackgroundEvidence suggests that healthcare staff in general and nurses in particular, are at a high risk of suffering from high levels of job strain. In addition to often examined job-related resources (such as control and social support), personal resources are expected to moderate (i.e. buffer) the relation between job demands and indicators of strain, particularly when there is a functional match between the type of demands and resources.DesignCross-sectional questionnaire survey.MethodA cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted (February-April 2010) among staff members of three nursing homes of a municipal organization for residential elderly care located in an urban area of Western Germany. A total of 145 of 251 employees responded to the invitation to participate in the study (57·8% participation rate). Data were analysed by hierarchical moderated regression analyses.ResultsIncreasing job demands (quantitative and qualitative workload) had adverse effects on emotional exhaustion, psychosomatic complaints, and turnover intentions, whereas nurses' self-efficacy beliefs exerted beneficial effects on all outcomes. Furthermore, findings revealed that active, problem-focused coping interacts with job demands in the prediction of job strain.ConclusionBoth research and practice should focus on a closer match between personal resources and job demands to prevent nurses from being strained.© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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