The Influence of Identity Bubble Reinforcement on the Happiness Index among Chinese Medical Staff: The Mediating Role of General Self-Efficacy

Objective: This study aimed to explore the mediating role of general self-efficacy in the influence of social media identity bubble reinforcement on the happiness index among Chinese medical staff.Methods: This study utilized data (n = 877) from the 2022 Psychological and Behavioral Investigation of Chinese Residents (PBICR) related to medical staff. Correlation analysis was performed using SPSS 26.0 software, and the relationships between general self-efficacy, social media identity bubble reinforcement, and the happiness index of Chinese medical staff were examined using AMOS 23.0 software.Results: The happiness index of Chinese medical staff was scored at 2.93 +/- 1.21 for each item. Social media identity bubble reinforcement among Chinese medical staff was posi-tively correlated with general self-efficacy (r = 0.380, P < .001), as well as with the happiness index (r = 0.330, P < .001). General self-efficacy was positively correlated with the happiness index (r = 0.575, P < .001) and was found to mediate the relationship between social media identity bubble reinforcement and the happiness index of Chinese medical staff. In terms of the mediating effect of social media identity bubble reinforcement, the direct effect's 95% confidence interval (CI) was 0.031-0.142, accounting for 34.68% of the total effect, which is statistically significant (P = .015), while the 95% CI of the indirect effect was 0.125-0.212, representing 65.32% of the total effect, also statistically significant (P = .005).Conclusion: Social media identity bubble reinforcement and general self-efficacy were found to be important factors influencing the happiness index of medical staff. Hospital managers and policymakers can thus enhance the social media identity bubble reinforce-ment and general self-efficacy of Chinese medical staff through effective measures to improve their happiness indices