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Publications

Journal Article Ppublish

PubMed: 42333741 DOI: 10.1155/jonm/2207579

Organizational Dehumanization, Perceived Stress, and Patient Depersonalization in French Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Test of the Spillover Model.

J Nurs Manag 2026(1):e2207579

Authors: Marie Charlotte Mollet, Oulmann Zerhouni, Corinne Isnard Bagnis, Lucia Romo

Affiliations

  • Centre for Research on Psychological Functioning and Dysfunction (CRFDP), University of Rouen Normandy, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France. EA 4430 Clinical, Psychoanalytic and Developmental Psychology (Clipsyd), Université Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France, parisnanterre.fr.
  • Centre for Research on Psychological Functioning and Dysfunction (CRFDP), University of Rouen Normandy, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France.
  • Parisian Laboratory of Social Psychology (LAPPS/PS2C), Paris Nanterre University, Nanterre, France, parisnanterre.fr.
  • Department of Nephrology, AP-HP Sorbonne University, Paris, France.
  • EA 4430 Clinical, Psychoanalytic and Developmental Psychology (Clipsyd), Université Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France, parisnanterre.fr.
  • Raymond-Poincaré University Hospital (AP-HP), Garches, France.
  • Inserm CESP U1018, Paris-Saclay University, Orsay, France, universite-paris-saclay.fr.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association between organizational dehumanization (OD) and nursing staff's perceived stress and to test whether perceived stress statistically mediates the relationship between OD and patient depersonalization, as proposed by the spillover model.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional online survey.

METHODOLOGY

A total of 291 registered nurses in France completed an online questionnaire measuring OD, perceived stress, and depersonalization. Mediation analysis with bias-corrected bootstrapping was used to examine the hypothesized pathway linking OD to patient depersonalization through perceived stress.

RESULTS

OD is significantly associated with perceived stress. Perceived stress functioned as a partial and statistically significant mediator in the relationship between OD and depersonalization. A significant direct effect of OD on depersonalization persisted, suggesting that stress only partially explains the relationship.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings provide cross-sectional support for the spillover hypothesis: OD is associated with psychological strain which in turn is associated with depersonalized attitudes toward patients. These findings suggest that OD may be part of a stressful work climate in which depersonalization is more likely to be observed, although causal interpretations cannot be drawn.

IMPACT

The results highlight OD as a potential psychosocial risk factor for nurses and as a contextual correlate of depersonalization in patient care. Policies should be informed by further longitudinal and intervention studies before drawing firm conclusions about mechanisms or causality. Also, interventions should prioritize reducing the perceived stress of staff and restoring the ethical quality of the work environment over merely managing individual stress.

IMPLICATION FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

These findings suggest that nursing managers should address OD as a contextual risk factor by reducing dehumanizing organizational practices and strengthening ethical, resource-preserving work conditions, rather than relying solely on individual stress-management strategies.

MeSH

Nurses, Dehumanization, Nursing, Stress, Physiological, Work, Risk Factors, Depersonalization