The mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship between mobbing and turnover intentions among nurses

Nurses are at heightened risk of workplace mobbing due to demanding working conditions, which adversely affects job satisfaction and turnover intention. While the direct relationship between mobbing and turnover intention is well documented, the mechanism through which mobbing translates into turnover intention and the protective role of psychological resilience in this process remains insufficiently understood. This cross sectional quantitative study aimed to examine the mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship between workplace mobbing and turnover intention among nurses, and to determine whether these variables differed according to nurses’ demographic characteristics. Cross-sectional and descriptive. Data were collected from 379 nurses between May 1–20, 2024. The questionnaire consisted of demographic questions, mobbing scale, turnover intention scale, and psychological resilience scale. Correlation analysis assessed relationships between variables. Mediation was tested using Hayes’ Process Macro Model 4 with 5000 bootstrap samples and 95% confidence intervals. Mobbing was positively associated with turnover intention and negatively with psychological resilience. Psychological resilience negatively predicted turnover intention and partially mediated the mobbing turnover relationship (indirect effect=0.081, 95% CI [0.021, 0.146]). Nurses with high resilience were less likely to consider leaving, despite exposure to mobbing. Mobbing was positively associated with turnover intention, and psychological resilience mediated this relationship, suggesting that resilience-building interventions may hold value as a practical strategy for supporting workplace behavioral health and reducing workforce attrition in healthcare organizations.