Is there an Emotion-Health Association among Healthcare Professionals?

INTRODUCTION: Research indicates that health predictors vary between professions. Although nurses and healthcare assistants share a mission and similar contexts, their work situations differ in some major respects. Nurses typically have more autonomy and control over their job situations, while healthcare assistants may face less stimulating and more monotonous roles. These differences may be a source of variations in their psychosocial perceptions, which, in turn, may influence their emotional reactions. Moreover, nurses and healthcare assistants differ in socioeconomic status, potentially impacting their emotion regulation and coping strategies. Drawing from empirical research on emotions and the job demand-control-support model, understanding their impact on health status could be enhanced. PURPOSE: The overarching objective was to examine the influence of emotions on health among nurses and healthcare assistants. More specifically, we addressed the following research questions: 1. Do emotions predict health over time for healthcare workers? 2. Do potential predictive effects of emotions on health differ between nurses and healthcare assistants? METHOD: Sample. Data were retrieved from the Norwegian Life-course, Ageing and Generation Study (Veenstra et al., 2021). The analytical sample consisted of 146 nurses and 231 healthcare assistants who completed questionnaires in 2007 (T1) and 2017 (T2). At the time of T1, their age ranged from 41 to 67 years (M = 49.06, SD = 5.23). Measures. Health was assessed using the 12-item Short Form Survey (SF-12). Scores of physical and mental health respectively were calculated according to the manual, so that higher values indicate better health. Emotions were assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, with participants rating 6 positive and 6 negative emotions experienced over the past 2 weeks. Higher values indicate higher levels of both negative and positive emotions. Statistical analyses. Data were examined using structural equation modeling with manifest variables. First, we designed a panel model to examine how positive and negative emotions affect future mental and physical health, controlling for temporal stability and cross-sectional intercorrelations. Second, we examined moderation effects of profession by comparing each path of interest across the professional groups. RESULTS: First Research Question. Our panel model had an acceptable fit to the data. The cross-lagged paths revealed that higher levels of negative emotions at T1 were associated with poorer mental health at T2 (β = -.14, p