Relationship between burnout peculiarities and positive personality characteristics among medical personnel in Lithuania

Abstract

Burnout among professionals has been a topic of interest in research literature for decades. Medical personnel are among those who suffer from burnout more often than other groups of professionals. Recent research findings suggest that positive characteristics of employees may serve as a buffer against burnout. Nevertheless, in Lithuania, positive personality characteristics are not extensively studied, especially in relation to burnout. The aim of the study was to find the relationship between burnout peculiarities and positive psychological characteristics such as self-efficacy, happiness, optimism and hardiness of medical personnel in Lithuania. The participants of the study were 241 employees working in various Lithuanian medical institutions: 138 (57.3%) physicians and 103 (42.7%) nursing personnel. Burnout was investigated using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI; Borritz, Kristensen, 2004). Self-efficacy was measured by the General Self-Efficacy Scale (Jerusalem & Schwarzer, 1979). Happiness was assessed by the Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky, 1999). Optimism was assessed by the Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R; Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994). Hardiness was measured by the Dispositional Resilience Scale (DRS15-R; Bartone, 2007). The results of the study showed that burnout scores did not differ depending on sex, position (physicians or nursing personnel), age or tenure of medical personnel in the studied Lithuanian sample. The study also revealed a negative relationship among burnout and positive personality characteristics, i.e. higher burnout scores were related to lower positive personality characteristics both among physicians and nursing personnel. Multiple regression analyses indicated that burnout among physicians was predicted by lower happiness and hardiness levels, whereas among nursing personnel it was predicted by lower optimism and hardiness levels. [...]