Abstract
Empirical research has shown that maladaptive perfectionism may lead to lower life satisfaction. However, the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and life satisfaction among medical students and the mechanism underlying this relationship still need to be further explored. The present study used a large sample of undergraduate medical students to examine the associations between maladaptive perfectionism and life satisfaction and to explore the mechanism underlying the associations. Specifically, the present study tried to probe the mediating role of academic burnout and the moderating role of self-esteem in the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and life satisfaction in medical students. We invited 1628 undergraduate medical students from two medical universities in Northeastern China to participate in the survey. Among the students recruited, 1377 medical students (response rate: 84.6%) completed questionnaires including the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS) maladaptive perfectionism subscales, the Chinese College Student Academic Burnout Inventory (CCSABI), the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and demographic information. Results show that maladaptive perfectionism was significantly negatively related to life satisfaction among medical students and academic burnout played a significant mediating role (β = −0.10, BCa 95%CI: −0.12, −0.07) in this relationship. Moderated mediation analyses reveal that the mediating effect of maladaptive perfectionism on life satisfaction via academic burnout was moderated by self-esteem. Maladaptive perfectionism exerted a stronger effect on life satisfaction via the mediating role of academic burnout for medical students with high self-esteem [β = −0.026, SE = 0.009, 95%CI = (−0.047, −0.011)] than for medical students with low self-esteem [β = −0.019, SE = 0.009, 95%CI = (−0.038, −0.001)]. Medical institutions can implement effective interventions to decrease medical students’ maladaptive perfectionism levels and academic burnout levels, and increase their self-esteem levels in order to enhance their life satisfaction.
Highlights
Medical students’ mental health has long been a focus of research in medical education and literature shows that the mental state of medical students has a considerable impact on their academic performance (Kötter et al, 2017), social relationships (Arbabisarjou et al, 2016) and life quality (Lucchetti et al, 2018)
Maladaptive perfectionism was significantly positively associated with academic burnout (β = 0.31, t = 11.98, Correlations Among Maladaptive Perfectionism, Academic Burnout, Life Satisfaction and Self-Esteem p < 0.001), which in turn was significantly negatively associated with life satisfaction (β = −0.30, t = −11.70, p < 0.001)
These results indicate that maladaptive perfectionism and self-esteem together had a synergistic effect, i.e., medical students with high self-esteem were more affected by maladaptive perfectionism with regard to academic burnout and life satisfaction
Summary
Medical students’ mental health has long been a focus of research in medical education and literature shows that the mental state of medical students has a considerable impact on their academic performance (Kötter et al, 2017), social relationships (Arbabisarjou et al, 2016) and life quality (Lucchetti et al, 2018). Since the mental health of medical students would affect the quality of healthcare they provide as physicians in the future, it is of vital importance to revisit the hot topic. Research reveals that perfectionism as a personality trait among medical students exerts a significant influence on their mental health (Seeliger and Harendza, 2017; Bußenius and Harendza, 2019). Two categories of perfectionism have been identified: adaptive perfectionism and maladaptive perfectionism (Rice and Ashby, 2007). Studies show that adaptive perfectionism is associated with positive outcomes, such as life satisfaction, adaptive coping styles and positive affect (Rice and Mirzadeh, 2000; Rice and Lapsley, 2001; Ashby et al, 2012). Maladaptive perfectionism has been found to be correlated with psychological dysfunctions, such as depression, negative affect and hopelessness (Dunkley et al, 2003; Rice et al, 2006; Bergman et al, 2007)
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