Abstract
BackgroundMedical students have a high risk of burnout from tremendous academic stress, and previous cross-sectional studies have explained this risk from the personality perspective. However, the relationship between complex personality profiles and developmental trajectory of burnout has not been delineated yet.MethodsThe longitudinal changes in burnout were measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS) at baseline (1st week), mid-term (9th week), and end-term (17th week), and personality was examined at baseline using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Latent trajectory groups based on the MBI-SS total scores were extracted using the General Growth Mixture Model (GGMM), and significant differences in personality profiles among the latent groups were identified using profile analysis and Analysis of Variance.ResultsThree burnout trajectory groups of high-increasing (HI), moderate-increasing (MI), and low-stable (LS) were identified, and these groups had significantly different TCI subscale profiles. The HI group had the highest score in Harm-Avoidance (HA) and lowest score in Self-Directedness (SD), and the MI group had a higher score in HA and lower scores in SD and Cooperativeness (CO) when compared to the LS group with the lowest score in HA and highest scores in SD and CO.ConclusionThe current study showed that the HA, SD, and CO subscales of the TCI might explain the longitudinal development of academic burnout in medical students. Prevention of burnout and promotion of well-being in medical education concerning personality are discussed.
Highlights
The majority of medical students experience academic burnout from a highly competitive environment, tremendous volumes of learning, frequent examinations, concerns about academic achievement and career uncertainty, lack of time for rejuvenation, intimidating and unfavorable environment, and fear of academic failure and gradeHow to cite this article Chae H, Cloninger CR, Lee SJ. 2020
Studies focusing on individual differences in vulnerability and resilience to burnout from the personality perspective are scarce (Eley et al, 2016; Lee, Choi & Chae, 2017), and research examining the causality of academic burnout in medical professionals has been insufficient (Chae & Lee, 2017; Kim et al, 2015; Lee, Choi & Chae, 2017)
A person belonging to the vulnerable HI burnout group had a personality profile with a high score in HA and low scores in SD and CO dimensions, while a person belonging to the resilient LS burnout group had a personality profile with a low score in HA and high scores in SD and CO dimensions (Lee, Choi & Chae, 2017; Melchers et al, 2015; Yazici et al, 2014)
Summary
The majority of medical students experience academic burnout from a highly competitive environment, tremendous volumes of learning, frequent examinations, concerns about academic achievement and career uncertainty, lack of time for rejuvenation, intimidating and unfavorable environment, and fear of academic failure and gradeHow to cite this article Chae H, Cloninger CR, Lee SJ. 2020. They are reported to suffer from many problems including anxiety, depressive symptoms, alcohol abuse, poor immune function, and low quality of life during the school years (Frajerman et al, 2019; Kim, Shin & Kang, 1995; Shapiro, Shapiro & Schwartz, 2000) along with poor doctor-patient relationship, low quality of clinical practice, frequent sick leaves, and mental health problems during clinical practice (Guthrie et al, 1998; Yoong et al, 1999). Prevention of burnout and promotion of well-being in medical education concerning personality are discussed
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