Association of burnout with stress, coping strategies and vocational satisfaction in Chilean clinical dental students.

Francisco Pérez,Pablo Caro,Jorge Ortíz ,Bárbara Valenzuela ,Juan Carlos Narváez

doi:10.17126/joralres.2016.067

Francisco Pérez, Pablo Caro + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.17126/joralres.2016.067

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Abstract

Objective: Dental students are particularly affected by stress, which can lead to ‘burnout syndrome’ by association with other psychological factors. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of perceived stress, coping strategies, and vocational satisfaction on the severity of burnout in Chilean dental students in the clinical years. Method: The study population was comprised of clinical dental students of five Chilean dental schools. The following variables were considered: age, gender, year of study, burnout, coping strategies, perceived stress, and vocational satisfaction. Statistical analysis included descriptive measures, correlation tests, and stepwise multiple regression analysis. Results: The final sample included 244 students. Three (1.23%) students did not have burnout in any of its factors and 38 (15.57%) had severe levels in all three factors. There was a statistically significant greater ‘emotional exhaustion’ in 4th year students. There was a statistically significant correlation of the three factors of burnout with ‘social withdrawal’ coping strategy, high levels of perceived stress, and low levels of present and future vocational satisfaction. Conclusion: Most students presented moderate and high levels of burnout. This situation is associated with dysfunctional coping strategies, high levels of perceived stress, and low levels of present and future vocational satisfaction.

Highlights

Stress is typical of the activities associated with work and university study, which can generate an adaptive or maladaptive response according to how it is addressed, lived, and solved.[1]
It has been reported that the largest increases of stress levels in dental students are associated with transitions between basic science, the preclinical level, and the clinical level,[5] with the most significant increase of stress starting in the clinical years.[6]
This study offer new insights on the interaction of psychological phenomena in dental student’s population

Summary

Introduction

Stress is typical of the activities associated with work and university study, which can generate an adaptive or maladaptive response according to how it is addressed, lived, and solved.[1]. Burnout is defined as ‘a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals who work with people’.7. Emotional exhaustion is characterised by the feeling that nothing can be given to another person on an emotional level, due to a lack of own emotional resources;[8] depersonalisation occurs with an attitude of detachment Burnout is defined as ‘a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals who work with people’.7 Emotional exhaustion is characterised by the feeling that nothing can be given to another person on an emotional level, due to a lack of own emotional resources;[8] depersonalisation occurs with an attitude of detachment

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Conclusion