Emotion Regulation Strategies, Workload Conditions, and Burnout in Healthcare Residents

Ramón Martín-Brufau, Alejandro Martin-Gorgojo, Carlos Suso-Ribera, Eduardo Estrada, María-Eugenia Capriles-Ovalles and Santiago Romero-Brufau
Additional contact information
Ramón Martín-Brufau: Psychiatry Department, Mental Health Center of Lorca, 30800 Lorca, Spain
Alejandro Martin-Gorgojo: STI/Dermatology Department, Madrid City Council, 28006 Madrid, Spain
Carlos Suso-Ribera: Department of Personality, Assessment and Clinical Psychology, Jaume I University, 12071 Castellón de la Plana, Spain
Eduardo Estrada: Department of Social Psychology and Methodology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
María-Eugenia Capriles-Ovalles: Emergency Department, Clinical University Hospital of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
Santiago Romero-Brufau: Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Rochester, MN 55905, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-12

Abstract: Background: Burnout syndrome is very prevalent among healthcare residents. Initiatives addressing workload conditions have had limited impact on burnout. The present study aims to explore the contribution of two emotion regulation strategies, namely emotion suppression and cognitive reevaluation, to residents’ burnout, while accounting for workload factors. Methods: Participants were 105 residents (68.6% women; mean age = 27.5, SD = 3.0). They completed measures of workload, burnout, and emotion regulation. The study was cross-sectional. Results: Emotional suppression was associated with higher burnout (depersonalization scale; β = 0.20, p < 0.05, CI 0.15–2.48) and cognitive revaluation was linked to lower burnout (higher personal accomplishment; β = 0.35, p < 0.01, CI 0.16–2.56), even after controlling for demographic and workload factors. We found interaction effects between workload variables (supervisor support and number of patient hours) and emotion regulation ( p < 0.05). Conclusions: The relationship between workload, emotion regulation, and burnout seems to be complex. That is, similar work conditions might generate different levels of burnout depending on the resident’s emotional regulation strategies. This might partly explain why existing initiatives based on workload changes have had a modest impact on burnout. Results also support including emotion regulation training in prevention and treatment programs targeting burnout during residency.

Keywords: emotion regulation; emotional suppression; cognitive reevaluation; burnout; residency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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