TY - JOUR
T1 - The relationship between resilience and personality traits in doctors
T2 - implications for enhancing well being
AU - Eley, Diann S.
AU - Robert Cloninger, C.
AU - Walters, Lucie
AU - Laurence, Caroline
AU - Synnott, Robyn
AU - Wilkinson, David
N1 - Copyright the Author(s) 2013. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
PY - 2013/11/19
Y1 - 2013/11/19
N2 - Objective: The health and well being of medical doctors is vital to their longevity and safe practice. The concept of resilience is recognised as a key component of well being and is an important factor in medical training to help doctors learn to cope with challenge, stress, and adversity. This study examined the relationship of resilience to personality traits and resilience in doctors in order to identify the key traits that promote or impair resilience. Methods: A cross sectional cohort of 479 family practitioners in practice across Australia was studied. The Temperament and Character Inventory measured levels of the seven basic dimensions of personality and the Resilience Scale provided an overall measure of resilience. The associations between resilience and personality were examined by Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients, controlling for age and gender (α= 0:05 with an accompanying 95% confidence level) andmultiple regression analyses. Results: Strong to medium positive correlations were found between Resilience and Self-directedness (r = .614, p <.01), Persistence (r = .498, p <.01), and Cooperativeness (r = .363, p <.01) and negative withHarmAvoidance (r = .-555, p < :01). Individual differences in personality explained 39% of the variance in resilience [F(7,460)= 38.40, p <.001]. The three traits which contributed significantly to this variance were Self-directedness (β = .33, p <.001), Persistence (β = .22, p <.001) andHarmAvoidance (β = .19, p <.001). Conclusion: Resilience was associated with a personality trait pattern that is mature, responsible, optimistic, persevering, and cooperative. Findings support the inclusion of resilience as a component of optimal functioning and well being in doctors. Strategies for enhancing resilience should consider the key traits that drive or impair it.
AB - Objective: The health and well being of medical doctors is vital to their longevity and safe practice. The concept of resilience is recognised as a key component of well being and is an important factor in medical training to help doctors learn to cope with challenge, stress, and adversity. This study examined the relationship of resilience to personality traits and resilience in doctors in order to identify the key traits that promote or impair resilience. Methods: A cross sectional cohort of 479 family practitioners in practice across Australia was studied. The Temperament and Character Inventory measured levels of the seven basic dimensions of personality and the Resilience Scale provided an overall measure of resilience. The associations between resilience and personality were examined by Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients, controlling for age and gender (α= 0:05 with an accompanying 95% confidence level) andmultiple regression analyses. Results: Strong to medium positive correlations were found between Resilience and Self-directedness (r = .614, p <.01), Persistence (r = .498, p <.01), and Cooperativeness (r = .363, p <.01) and negative withHarmAvoidance (r = .-555, p < :01). Individual differences in personality explained 39% of the variance in resilience [F(7,460)= 38.40, p <.001]. The three traits which contributed significantly to this variance were Self-directedness (β = .33, p <.001), Persistence (β = .22, p <.001) andHarmAvoidance (β = .19, p <.001). Conclusion: Resilience was associated with a personality trait pattern that is mature, responsible, optimistic, persevering, and cooperative. Findings support the inclusion of resilience as a component of optimal functioning and well being in doctors. Strategies for enhancing resilience should consider the key traits that drive or impair it.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84891528771&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.7717/peerj.216
DO - 10.7717/peerj.216
M3 - Article
C2 - 24282675
AN - SCOPUS:84891528771
SN - 2167-8359
VL - 1
SP - 1
EP - 16
JO - PeerJ
JF - PeerJ
M1 - 216
ER -