RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS INFLUENCING PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH CONDITIONS IN ITALIAN MALE NURSES

Work-Family Conflict (WFC) is considered as a key risk factor influencing nurses’ psychophysical health conditions. Nevertheless, both in occupational health research and in WFC literature, male nurses population is still overall underresearched, so reducing the possibility to understand the generalizability of research results about risk and protective factors influencing their health conditions. Therefore, the study aims at exploring the associations between WFC and psychophysical health conditions (Anxiety, Depression, Somatization) among male nurses, testing the potential moderating role of Job Control (Skill Discretion, Decision Authority), Social Support, and Job Satisfaction. A questionnaire consisting of Socio-demographic and Employment characteristics; Work-Family Conflict Scale; Skill Discretion, Decision Authority, and Social Support subscales from the Job Content Questionnaire; Job Satisfaction subscale from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire; Anxiety, Depression, and Somatization subscales from the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, was administered to 206 male nurses from five public hospitals of the Italian Healthcare Service. Data revealed that WFC was significantly associated with Anxiety (β = .24, p > .001), Depression (β = .22, p > .01) and Somatization (β = .30, p > .001) among male nurses. Decision Authority and Job Satisfaction emerged as significant moderators of the associations between WFC and male nurses’ psychological health conditions. Findings provided information for defining evidence-based and more tailored individual and organizational interventions to promote male nurses’ health, accounting for their needs, risks and resources.