Abstract
BackgroundStress and burnout commonly threaten the mental health of medical students in Malaysia and elsewhere. This study aimed to explore the interrelations of psychological distress, emotional intelligence, personality traits, academic stress, and burnout among medical students.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with 241 medical students. Validated questionnaires were administered to measure burnout, psychological distress, emotional intelligence, personality traits, and academic stress, respectively. A structural equation modelling analysis was performed by AMOS.ResultsThe results suggested a structural model with good fit indices, in which psychological distress and academic stress were noted to have direct and indirect effects on burnout. The burnout levels significantly increased with the rise of psychological distress and academic stress. Neuroticism was only found to have significant indirect effects on burnout, whereby burnout increased when neuroticism increased. Emotional intelligence had a significant direct effect on lowering burnout with the incremental increase of emotional intelligence, but it was significantly reduced by psychological distress and neuroticism.ConclusionThis study showed significant effects that psychological distress, emotional intelligence, academic stress, and neuroticism have on burnout. Academic stress and neuroticism significantly increased psychological distress, leading to an increased burnout level, while emotional intelligence had a significant direct effect on reducing burnout; however, this relationship was compromised by psychological distress and neuroticism, leading to increased burnout. Several practical recommendations for medical educators, medical students, and medical schools are discussed.
Highlights
Psychological distress is an unpleasant emotional state experienced by individuals in response to demands that cause mental disturbances [1]
The results identified that emotional intelligence (EI) was significantly reduced by psychological distress and neuroticism, indicating both were negative predictors of EI, which suggests that psychological distress and neuroticism increased burnout levels by reducing EI levels
These results indicated the significant effects and paths that psychological distress, emotional intelligence, academic stress, and neuroticism have on burnout
Summary
Psychological distress is an unpleasant emotional state experienced by individuals in response to demands that cause mental disturbances [1]. Literature has shown psychological distress is more prevalent in medical students than in the public [4, 5]. Before the medical training start, medical students have shown a similar level of psychological health as compared to the public [5,6,7,8]. In comparison to undergraduate students across 15 courses, the students enrolled in medicine and health science courses showed the highest psychological distress scores [9]. These facts suggest medical training is challenging and demanding for young medical students [10]. This study aimed to explore the interrelations of psychological distress, emotional intelligence, personality traits, academic stress, and burnout among medical students
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