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Relationship between psychological capital and depression in Chinese physicians: The mediating role of organizational
Li Sun1, Yuan Zhang2, Jingyun He3
1Department of Medical Education Management, School of Health Management of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
Insights
Physician depression is prevalent, with 41.6% affected. Enhancing psychological capital and organizational commitment can reduce depression through positive coping styles.
Area of Science:
- Medical Profession
- Occupational Health
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Physicians face high occupational stress and workload, increasing susceptibility to depression.
- Physician depression negatively impacts mental health and healthcare quality.
- Understanding factors influencing physician depression is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence of depression among physicians.
- To explore the mediating roles of organizational commitment and coping styles in the relationship between psychological capital and physician depression.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study involving 1,139 physicians in Heilongjiang Province.
- Utilized cluster sampling and administered questionnaires on psychological capital, organizational commitment, coping styles, and depression.
- Employed Pearson correlation analysis and Bootstrap method for statistical analysis.
Main Results:
- 41.6% of physicians reported experiencing depression.
- 17.0% had moderate depression, and 2.6% had severe depression.
- Organizational commitment and positive coping styles significantly mediated the association between psychological capital and depression.
Conclusions:
- Psychological capital positively influences organizational commitment and positive coping styles.
- Increased organizational commitment and positive coping styles sequentially lead to reduced physician depression.
- Interventions targeting psychological capital may mitigate depression among physicians.
Background:
It is well known that the medical profession is a high-risk practice, with intense work and complex situations. The physicians are prone to suffer from depression due to occupational stress under high workloads for long periods of time. Depression not only impairs physicians' mental health, but also affects the quality of health services, so it is important to explore the factors and mechanisms affecting depression among physicians.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional study, 1,139 physicians from Heilongjiang Province were surveyed by cluster sampling procedures. The questionnaires included Psychological Capital Questionnaire, Chinese Employee Organizational Commitment Questionnaire, Trait Coping Style Questionnaire and Self-rating Depression Scale. Pearson correlation analysis and Bootstrap were used for statistical analysis.
Results:
This study found that 41.6% of physicians suffering from depression. Among them, 17.0% of physicians showed moderate depression, and 2.6% of physicians exhibited severe depression. The serial-multiple mediation of organizational commitment and positive coping styles in the relationship between psychological capital and depression was significant.
Conclusion:
The results showed that the psychological capital was sequentially associated with increased organizational commitment, and then increased positive coping styles, which resulted in reduced depression among physicians.
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