Medical residents: Personality traits, mental health and suicidal ideation

Abstract

Introduction: Stress is a condition present in postgraduate medical training but the way they react to stressors depends on the particular personality traits. Both aspects, as well as other demographic characteristics and type of specialty, are factors involved in the development of psychiatric symptoms among residents of different specialties.

Objective: The aim was to explore the influence of personality and socio-demographic factors, in mental health and suicidal ideation in medical residents.

Method: A cross-sectional, descriptive and correlative study was performed. The sample consisted of 981 residents of 1st and 2nd year of the Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. NEO FFI - R (60 ítems) inventory was used to measure personality traits, Symptom Check List 90 R (SCL-90-R) for clinical variables, and 3 questions about suicidal ideation.

Results: The personality profile was low neuroticism and high conscientiousness; Cluster analysis in specialties that have the highest percentages in the personality profile at risk (19.6%) were: urology (38.9%), psychiatry (34.1%), legal medicine (27.8%), family medicine (27.4%), critical care (25.9%) and anesthesiology (25.0%). The 20.2% had a score ≥T65 at least a scale of SCL-90-R; surgical oncology residents had the highest mean Global Severity Index (GSI), followed by psychiatry and anesthesiology. Only 8.0% were positive cases of suicidal ideation questions. Of the 78 cases of psychopathology, 24.5% belong to cluster personality profile at risk. 

Conclusions: Dominated by the personality traits of neurotic type residents presenting global psychopathology and suicidal ideation. The high stress specialties coincide with a higher percentage of individuals with neurotic personality. Men have greater global prevalence of psychopathology as well as residents without a partner