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Nurses often face a variety of work-related and life-related stresses that make them more prone to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet the underlying mechanism of this association is poorly understood. To address this research gap, we investigated the mediating role of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between perceived stress and PTSD symptoms, and explored whether psychological capital could moderate the direct or indirect effects between perceived stress and PTSD symptoms. Nurses (N = 723) completed a questionnaire about perceived stress, PTSD symptoms, maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and psychological capital. After controlling for gender, age and work department, perceived stress was positively correlated with PTSD symptoms. Maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies partially mediated this relationship. Psychological capital moderates the effects of perceived stress and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies on PTSD symptoms. Specifically, the positive correlation between perceived stress and PTSD symptoms was stronger among nurses with low levels of psychological capital than among nurses with high levels of psychological capital. At the same time, the positive correlation between maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and PTSD symptoms was stronger in nurses with a low level of psychological capital. Therefore, cognitive strategies and interventions oriented toward psychological capital may alleviate the PTSD symptoms of nurses in stressful situations.

Background: This study aims to explore the mediating role of loneliness between depressive symptoms and cognitive frailty among older adults in the community. Methods: A total of 527 community-dwelling older adults aged ≥ 60 years were included in this cross-sectional study. A five-item geriatric depression scale was used to assess depression symptoms. Then, an eight-item University of California at Los Angeles Loneliness Scale was used to assess loneliness. Moreover, the FRAIL scale and Mini-Mental State Examination were used to assess cognitive frailty. Furthermore, regression and bootstrap analyses were used to explore the mediating role of loneliness in depression symptoms and cognitive frailty. Results: Loneliness mediates the association between depression symptoms and cognitive frailty (95% CI = 0.164~0.615), and after adjusting for loneliness, the direct effect is no longer significant (95% CI = −0.113~1.318, p = 0.099). Conclusions: Results show that the effect of cognitive frailty is not depression symptoms but loneliness. All levels of society (the government, medical institutions, and communities) need to pay more attention to the mental health of the older adults, screen for loneliness, and take timely intervention and treatment measures. They should also build an age-friendly society and promote active aging.