The Relationship between Perceived Vulnerability to Infectious Disease and the Experience of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms with the Mediating Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation in the Treatment Staff of Patients with Covid-19

During the Covid-19 epidemic, the mental health of nurses and staff in patient-related wards is critical. The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation in the relationship between perceived vulnerability to disease and the experience of post-traumatic stress symptoms in the caregiving staff of patients with Covid-19. The present study is basic research and descriptive-correlational in terms of method. The study population consisted of all care staff of patients with Covid-19 working in hospitals in Tehran in June and July 2021, from which 677 people were selected as a sample. Research instruments include Mississippi Scale for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (MCCP: Keane et al., 1988), the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Questionnaire (PVDQ: Duncan et al., 2009), and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ: Garnefski et al., 2002). Data were analyzed using structural equation analysis using Amos version 24 and SPSS version 22.  Findings of the study indicated that the model has a good fit and perceived vulnerability has no significant effect on the experience of PTSD symptoms. Still, positive cognitive emotion regulation has a significant negative effect on PTSD  and negative cognitive emotion regulation had a significant positive impact on PTSD (ρ<0.001). In addition, the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation in the relationship between perceived vulnerability and PTSD was also significant (ρ<0.001).  It can be concluded that perceived vulnerability through cognitive emotion regulation strategies can be the basis for experiencing the symptoms of PTSD.