The Protective Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship between Perfectionism and Burnout in Portuguese Medicine and Dentistry Students

Ana Telma Pereira, Maria João Brito, Carolina Cabaços, Mário Carneiro, Frederica Carvalho, Andreia Manão, Ana Araújo, Daniela Pereira and António Macedo
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Ana Telma Pereira: Institute of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
Maria João Brito: Institute of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
Carolina Cabaços: Institute of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
Mário Carneiro: Institute of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
Frederica Carvalho: Institute of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
Andreia Manão: Institute of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
Ana Araújo: Institute of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
Daniela Pereira: Institute of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
António Macedo: Institute of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: Recent studies have documented the high prevalence of burnout among medicine and dentistry students, with potentially catastrophic consequences for both students and patients. Both environmental and personality factors play a part in burnout; perfectionism, a common trait in medicine students’ personalities, has been linked to psychological distress and increasing students’ vulnerability to burnout. Self-compassion, i.e., treating oneself kindly through hardship, has recently emerged as a buffer between perfectionism and psychological distress. While using a novel three-factor conceptualization of perfectionism (BIG3), this study aims to analyze if self-compassion has a protective role in the relationship between perfectionism and burnout, in a sample of medicine and dentistry students, through mediation analysis. We found that self-compassion significantly mediated the relationship between all three forms of perfectionism and burnout: as a partial mediator in self-critical and rigid perfectionism, as well as a full mediator in narcissistic perfectionism. Our findings underline self-compassion’s relevance in burnout prevention and management, supporting its use as an intervention target in burnout reduction programs and strategies.

Keywords: perfectionism; self-compassion; burnout; medical students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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