Role of stressful life events and personality traits on the prevalence of wish to die among French physicians

Bibliographic Details
Title: Role of stressful life events and personality traits on the prevalence of wish to die among French physicians
Authors: Emmanuel Diaz, Diana Abad-Tortosa, Maha Ghezal, Josephine Davin, Jorge Lopez-Castroman
Source: Frontiers in Public Health, Vol 12 (2024)
Publisher Information: Frontiers Media S.A., 2024.
Publication Year: 2024
Collection: LCC:Public aspects of medicine
Subject Terms: occupational stress, personality, physicians, psychological stress, suicidal ideation, suicide, Public aspects of medicine, RA1-1270
More Details: BackgroundSuicide rates are higher among physicians than in the general population. We aimed to investigate the role of stressful life events (related or not to work conditions) and personality traits on wish to die, a proxy measure of suicidal ideation.MethodsThis cross-sectional study took place in France from March 2018 to September 2018. Physicians completed an online questionnaire. A multiple logistic regression model estimated factors associated with wish to die. Moderated moderation models were used to assess the effect of personality traits on the relationship between stressful events and wish to die.Results1,020 physicians completed the questionnaire. Most (75%) had endorsed a work-related stressful event and one in six (15.9%) endorsed a wish to die the year before. Wish to die was associated with burnout (OR = 2.65, 95%CI = 1.82–3.88) and work-related stressful events (OR = 2.18, 95%CI = 1.24–3.85) including interpersonal conflicts, harassment and work-overload. Emotional stability was the only personality trait associated with wish to die in the logistic regression (OR = 0.69, 95%CI = 0.59–0.82). In moderation models, we observed a significant interaction involving three personality traits—emotional stability, extraversion, and agreeableness—along with gender, influencing the impact of stressful events on the wish to die.LimitationsOur study is limited by the impossibility to control for risk factors associated with suicide like psychiatric comorbidities.ConclusionWork-related stressful events significantly contribute to the manifestation of a wish to die among physicians. The impact of stressful events on the wish to die is moderated by factors such as gender and personality traits, including emotional stability and extraversion. These results are overall consistent with prior studies concerning the risk of burnout and suicide among physicians.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2296-2565
Relation: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1244605/full; https://doaj.org/toc/2296-2565
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1244605
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/59a38ad0e0df4e6dba8c769d75b5a1d1
Accession Number: edsdoj.59a38ad0e0df4e6dba8c769d75b5a1d1
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:22962565
DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1244605
Published in:Frontiers in Public Health
Language:English