Risk factor for psycopathology during residency

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Psychiatry
• Psychology

Background:

• Medical residency is a period of intense stress due to new patient relationships, rapid learning, and life events.
• High prevalence of mental disorders (49%) observed in residents, generally not severe.
• Disorders linked to desire to leave the profession and insufficient social/family time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of mental disorders during medical residency.
• To identify risk factors associated with these disorders in residents.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 145 residents across all specialties and training years.
• Data collected annually, including sociodemographics, psychic history, stress, psychopathology, personality traits, and coping behaviors.
• Discriminant analysis used to identify key associations.

Main Results:

• Psychopathology significantly associated with neuroticism, self-reproach, and distancing behaviors.
• Personal psychic history and stress from training itself were major contributing factors.
• Mental health issues correlated with intent to quit and lack of personal time.

Conclusions:

• Both individual (personality, history) and contextual (training environment) factors are vital for resident mental health.
• Identifying these risk factors can inform preventive strategies for stress management in medical training.
• Proactive interventions are needed to support resident well-being and career development.