The Relationship between moral resilience, moral distress, and second victim syndrome among Iranian ICU nurses: a cross-sectional correlational study

This cross-sectional study, conducted in 2023 on 386 ICU nurses from hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences, investigated the relationships between moral resilience, moral distress, and second victim syndrome. Participants were selected through simple random sampling, and d...

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Main Authors: Zahra Asadi, Alun C. Jackson, Azam Jahangirimehr, Fatemeh Bahramnezhad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine
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Online Access:https://jmehm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jmehm/article/view/1516
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author Zahra Asadi
Alun C. Jackson
Azam Jahangirimehr
Fatemeh Bahramnezhad
author_facet Zahra Asadi
Alun C. Jackson
Azam Jahangirimehr
Fatemeh Bahramnezhad
author_sort Zahra Asadi
collection DOAJ
description This cross-sectional study, conducted in 2023 on 386 ICU nurses from hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences, investigated the relationships between moral resilience, moral distress, and second victim syndrome. Participants were selected through simple random sampling, and data were collected using Rushton’s Moral Resilience Scale, Hamric’s Moral Distress Questionnaire, and Burlison’s Second Victim Scale. Analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation in SPSS v24. The results showed a significant positive correlation between second victim syndrome and moral distress, indicating that increased second victim experiences were associated with higher moral distress. There was also a significant negative correlation between moral resilience and second victim syndrome, confirmed by regression and structural equation modeling. However, no significant correlation was found between moral resilience and moral distress. Overall, the study highlights that second victim syndrome contributes to moral distress, while moral resilience acts as a protective factor. It is recommended that targeted interventions – such as resilience training, peer support groups, professional debriefing, and organizational mental health.initiatives -be implemented to mitigate these psychological challenges in high-stress ICU environments.
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spelling doaj-art-4eaa30f95345486f97dd389b10801e202025-08-20T03:26:39ZengTehran University of Medical SciencesJournal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine2008-03872025-06-0118The Relationship between moral resilience, moral distress, and second victim syndrome among Iranian ICU nurses: a cross-sectional correlational studyZahra Asadi0Alun C. Jackson1Azam Jahangirimehr2Fatemeh Bahramnezhad3Researcher, Ms. Student, Critical Care Nursing Department, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.Professor, Centre on Behavioral Health, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, SAR China.Researcher, School of Medical Sciences, Shoushtar Faculty of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.Associate Professor, Department of ICU Nursing, School of Nursing & Midwifery,Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. This cross-sectional study, conducted in 2023 on 386 ICU nurses from hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences, investigated the relationships between moral resilience, moral distress, and second victim syndrome. Participants were selected through simple random sampling, and data were collected using Rushton’s Moral Resilience Scale, Hamric’s Moral Distress Questionnaire, and Burlison’s Second Victim Scale. Analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation in SPSS v24. The results showed a significant positive correlation between second victim syndrome and moral distress, indicating that increased second victim experiences were associated with higher moral distress. There was also a significant negative correlation between moral resilience and second victim syndrome, confirmed by regression and structural equation modeling. However, no significant correlation was found between moral resilience and moral distress. Overall, the study highlights that second victim syndrome contributes to moral distress, while moral resilience acts as a protective factor. It is recommended that targeted interventions – such as resilience training, peer support groups, professional debriefing, and organizational mental health.initiatives -be implemented to mitigate these psychological challenges in high-stress ICU environments. https://jmehm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jmehm/article/view/1516Moral resilience; Moral distress; Second victim syndrome; Critical care nursing; Iran
spellingShingle Zahra Asadi
Alun C. Jackson
Azam Jahangirimehr
Fatemeh Bahramnezhad
The Relationship between moral resilience, moral distress, and second victim syndrome among Iranian ICU nurses: a cross-sectional correlational study
Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine
Moral resilience; Moral distress; Second victim syndrome; Critical care nursing; Iran
title The Relationship between moral resilience, moral distress, and second victim syndrome among Iranian ICU nurses: a cross-sectional correlational study
title_full The Relationship between moral resilience, moral distress, and second victim syndrome among Iranian ICU nurses: a cross-sectional correlational study
title_fullStr The Relationship between moral resilience, moral distress, and second victim syndrome among Iranian ICU nurses: a cross-sectional correlational study
title_full_unstemmed The Relationship between moral resilience, moral distress, and second victim syndrome among Iranian ICU nurses: a cross-sectional correlational study
title_short The Relationship between moral resilience, moral distress, and second victim syndrome among Iranian ICU nurses: a cross-sectional correlational study
title_sort relationship between moral resilience moral distress and second victim syndrome among iranian icu nurses a cross sectional correlational study
topic Moral resilience; Moral distress; Second victim syndrome; Critical care nursing; Iran
url https://jmehm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jmehm/article/view/1516
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