[Hardiness, coping and quality of life of nurses working in intensive care units]

The goals of the study are two-folds: on the one hand, to examine the relations between hardiness, coping strategies and quality of life at work of french nurses working in the intensive care units; on the other hand, to examine the mediating effect of coping strategies between hardiness and quality of life at work. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire, anonymously filled by 137 nurses which represented 60% participation from the initial sample population. Maddi & Kobasa's theory (1984) of Hardiness is the foundation for the present study and Baron & Kenny's statistical model (1986) was used to determine the mediating effect of the coping strategies. Regression analysis demonstrated that positive reevaluation/problem solving strategies had a mediating effect between a sense of commitment, a sense of mastery and quality of life at work. These results prompted various propositions in order to improve nurses quality of life at work.