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

The role of self-compassion in mediating the effect of perfectionism on personal growth initiative in dental hygienists

OBJECTIVE

This study explored perfectionism, self-compassion and personal growth initiative in clinical dental hygienists.

METHODS

Cross-sectional survey research was conducted with a non-probability sample of clinical dental hygienists (n = 877). The survey had 55 items and consisted of three validated instruments: Frost's Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-Brief (including evaluative concerns and perfectionistic striving subscales), Neff's Self-Compassion Scale and Robitschek's Personal Growth Initiative Scale. Descriptive, correlation, t-test, ANOVA and logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationships among variables. Mediation analysis was conducted to determine the presence of a mediated moderation effect of self-compassion on perfectionism and personal growth initiative.

RESULTS

The completion rate for the survey was 89% (n = 788). Evaluative concerns (M = 11.83) and perfectionistic strivings (M = 15.44) among dental hygienists were high, levels of self-compassion (SC) were moderate (M = 2.87) and levels of personal growth initiative (PGI) were low (M = 38.07) compared to others not in the dental field. The mediation analysis found that SC mediates the relationship between perfectionistic evaluative concerns and PGI. It was also determined that SC mediates the relationship between perfectionistic strivings and PGI.

CONCLUSION

Dental hygienists have high levels of perfectionism and may lack necessary levels of self-compassion to counteract those perfectionistic tendencies resulting in a decrease in taking the initiative to engage in opportunities for growth. This suggests the importance of dental hygienists developing a more adaptive perfectionism to balance self-criticism along with not having unrealistic expectations for perfection while engaging in self-compassion that includes self-kindness and mindfulness to support their continued growth.

Contemporary dental student professionalism: moving towards a macro-level perspective

Defining professionalism and developing educational interventions that foster and assess student professionalism are integral to dental education. Nevertheless, conceptual, methodological and pedagogic differences define the academic field, leaving students, educators and the profession itself struggling to make meaningful progress on how best to elicit and monitor dental student professionalism. This article proposes that more progress can be made on this important issue when a contextualised, sociological assessment of dentistry and dental professionalism is undertaken. We contend that identifying some of the socio-cultural demands in UK dental students' lives, and acknowledging how these pressures shape their interactions with the UK dental education system, provides a nuanced and contemporaneous understanding of what it means to be an oral health care professional at a time of social and health care upheaval. Dental educators can use this insight to work towards being more understanding of and responsive to dental student professional development.

A systematic review of parental burnout and related factors among parents

BACKGROUND

Parenting is both a complex and stressful endeavor, so parents sometimes experience parenting burnout. The main objective of this study was to provide an overview of factors related to general parental burnout (PB) among parents with at least one child based on the Ecological Systems Theory (EST).

METHODS

PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, CNKI and WanFang were systematically searched for studies published from 2010 to July 2023 for peer-reviewed articles using keywords extracted from Medical Subject Headings such as "parenting", "parental", "burnout", "psychological burnout", "burn-out syndrome". Studies were included if they described associations between factors and PB among parents of children aged 0-18 years old in the general population, and published in an English or Chinese language peer-reviewed journal. The Quality Assessment Tool for Studies with Diverse Designs (QATSDD) was employed to assess the risk of bias of included studies.

RESULTS

Of 2037 articles, 26 articles met the inclusion criteria. Based on the Ecological Systems Theory (EST), we found that microsystem-individual factors such as gender, educational level, income, parental personality, internalization of maternal parental motivation, unmitigated communion, self-compassion and concern for others, alexithymia, anxiety and depressive symptoms, parental perfectionism, resilience, low self-esteem and high need for control, mother's attachment style were identified as being associated with parenting burnout. Mesosystem-interpersonal factors involve parent-child relationship and marital satisfaction. The exosystem-organizational or community factors include the number of children in the household, neighborhood and the number of hours spent with children, child's illness, child's behavior problems and social support. The macrosystem-society/policy or culture factors are mainly personal values and cultural values.

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review found several factors that have been investigated in relation to PB. However, the majority of the factors were reported by one or two studies often implementing a cross-sectional design. Nevertheless, we still recommend that health policymakers and administrators relieve parenting burnout among parents with children by adjusting these modifiable factors.

The relationship between perfectionism and interpersonal sensitivity with self-compassion in university students: the mediation of repetitive negative thinking

Self-compassion is a construct of positive psychology related to personality and cognitive factors. Perfectionism and interpersonal sensitivity are prevalent personality traits among university students and are associated with low self-compassion. Further research is required to comprehend how these mechanisms work in creating self-compassion. Consequently, the current study investigated the direct and indirect relationship between perfectionism and interpersonal sensitivity with self-compassion via repetitive negative thinking. To this end, a sample of 450 students studying in Tehran during the 2022 academic year was selected as the study sample. The results indicated that perfectionism and interpersonal sensitivity demonstrate a negative direct relationship with self-compassion, while perfectionism and interpersonal sensitivity exhibit an indirect relationship with self-compassion via repetitive negative thinking. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the relationship between perfectionism and interpersonal sensitivity with self-compassion is not straightforward and that repetitive negative thinking can mediate this relationship. The results can be used to improve methods for increasing self-compassion and paying attention to personality, and cognitive factors can be an important step toward more effective self-compassion interventions.

The role of self-compassion and compassion toward others in burnout syndrome in a sample of medical students

Burnout produces negative effects on academic performance, and, in turn, feelings of inefficiency that are detrimental to students' psychosocial well-being. The aim of this research is to determine the effects that self-compassion and compassion toward others have on various burnout dimensions in a sample of medical students. A total of 235 medical students (61.7% women) aged between 16 and 32 years old (M = 19.82; SD = 2.37) belonging to a Colombian university participated. A cluster analysis to segment the population according to burnout was carried out along with nonparametric contrasts to identify differences in the levels of self-compassion and compassion toward others between each profile. A series of regression analyses was designed to find out how each type of compassion was associated with burnout on each profile. The cluster analysis allowed us to identify three profiles. The low-involvement profile (n = 51) is characterized by low depersonalization, intermediate levels of emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment and exhibits low levels of self-compassion and compassion fatigue compared with the other profiles. The positive-adaptation profile (n = 104) is characterized by low depersonalization levels, intermediate degrees of emotional exhaustion and high levels of personal accomplishment and exhibits the highest levels of self-compassion and compassion fatigue compared with the other profiles. The high-demand profile (n = 104) is characterized by intermediate depersonalization levels, medium-high levels of emotional exhaustion and high levels of personal accomplishment and exhibits intermediate levels of self-compassion and low levels of compassion fatigue. Establishing profiles based on burnout allows students to be segmented and for precise knowledge to be acquired about the effects that both types of compassion have on the dimensions of burnout.

The Influence of Positive and Negative Aspects of Perfectionism on Psychological Distress in Emerging Adulthood: Exploring the Mediating Role of Self-Compassion

Perfectionism constitutes a multidimensional personality trait. According to the diathesis-stress model, perfectionism may predispose individuals to experience increased psychological distress during stressful periods. Since self-compassion is considered as a protective factor within the context of mental health difficulties, the primary objective of this study was to explore the mediating function of self-compassion in the relationship between positive (i.e., high standards and order) and negative (i.e., discrepancy) aspects of perfectionism and psychological distress among Greek emerging adults. The sample consisted of 410 university students (47.6% males and 52.4% females), with a mean age of 20.61 ± 1.88 years. The Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R), the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), and the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) were used to assess perfectionism, self-compassion, and psychological distress, respectively. The results indicated that self-compassion mediated the association between positive and negative aspects of perfectionism and different dimensions of psychological distress (i.e., somatic symptoms, anxiety/insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression). Specifically, discrepancy and increased levels of high standards were related to lower levels of self-compassion, thus leading to greater endorsement of psychological distress. In contrast, order was associated with higher levels of self-compassion, thus leading to lower levels of psychological distress. The findings of the present study highlight that self-compassion is an overall important area to examine in nonclinical populations. These findings have implications for the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in enhancing individuals' self-acceptance and awareness of their perfectionistic tendencies, as well as compassion-focused therapy (CFT) in elevating self-compassion, mindfulness, and overall psychological well-being while reducing psychological distress.

Psychometric properties of the Big Three Perfectionism Scale-Short Form (BTPS-SF) among Iranian University students

INTRODUCTION

Perfectionism is a common personality trait, particularly among university students. As awareness of this trait increases, research seeks to update tools for measuring it. The psychometric properties of the three-dimensional perfectionism scale-short form (BTPS-SF) have not been studied in the Iranian population. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the psychometric properties of this 16-item scale among Iranian university students.

METHODS

The statistical population for this research included all students in Tehran. From this population, 528 students were selected, and data analysis was performed using SPSS 26 and AMOS 24 software.

RESULTS

The findings showed that the BTPS-SF has acceptable validity and reliability. Furthermore, a positive and significant correlation was found between perfectionism and interpersonal sensitivity, whereas a negative and significant correlation was found between perfectionism and self-compassion.

CONCLUSION

Given the desirable psychometric properties of the Persian version of the BTPS-SF, its use can be recommended to psychology experts in research and clinical evaluation situations.

Perfect people, happier lives? When the quest for perfection compromises happiness: the roles played by substance use and internet addiction

Building on the Conservation of Resources Theory and the Stress-Coping Model, the present study explored the relationship between perfectionism (rigid, self-critical, narcissistic) and subjective happiness among youth. In this relationship, we also examined the mediating roles of substance use (i.e., drinking and smoking) and Internet addiction symptoms. Our sample comprised 431 Romanian university students aged 18-25 (M = 20.50, SD = 1.58), and most of them were females (79.81%, self-reported gender). Participants completed self-reported anonymous scales through a web-based survey at the beginning of 2023. Correlation analysis results indicated that all forms of perfectionism were associated with Internet addiction symptoms. Self-critical and narcissistic perfectionism and drinking, smoking, and Internet addiction symptoms were negatively associated with subjective happiness. Path analysis suggested that health-risk behaviors completely mediated the effect of perfectionism on subjective happiness. High levels of perfectionism were associated with high levels of health-risk behaviors, and high levels of addictive behaviors were associated with low levels of subjective happiness. We discuss the present findings considering their practical use regarding students' subjective happiness.

The Prevalence of the Burnout Syndrome and Factors Associated in the Students of Dentistry in Integral Clinic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background

Burnout syndrome (BS) is composed of three interrelated dimensions (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal fulfillment), and it has been documented that it affects health professionals from an early age.

Aims

Determine the prevalence of BS and associated factors in the integral clinic of the Dentistry Pilot School. Material and Methods. Two instruments were applied: (1) Maslach Burnout Inventory, which measures the degree of professional burnout through 22 items that describe the professional's attitudes and feelings toward work, as well as symptoms associated with this phenomenon; (2) the second questionnaire determines the possible symptoms of BS and consists of 14 questions that describe tiredness, sleep problems, digestive problems, respiratory problems and headaches, temporomandibular joint (TMJ), neck pain, back pain, and upper and lower extremity pain. The instruments were answered anonymously by a total of 300 students who participated in the study.

Results

The emotional exhaustion of the participants was 48.3% at a higher level, the depersonalization was 46.7% at a higher level, and the low perception of personal fulfillment was 73%. In addition, it was shown that BS is significantly related to marital status (p < 0.001∗), with single people reporting being more exhausted, with the 6-month level (p = 0.011) and with the following symptoms: non-neck pain, head, TMJ, back, waist, upper and lower body pain.

Conclusion

It was found that the BS had a prevalence of high levels of exhaustion and depersonalization correlated with the marital status and level of preparation (academic degree) of the person, finding a prevalence of symptoms such as pain in the neck, head, TMJ, and back.

Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, and Acceptance as Predictors of Sexual Satisfaction in Cisgender Heterosexual Men and Women

Sexual satisfaction is a relevant indicator of sexual health, and psychotherapeutic interventions for sexual dysfunction also promote sexual satisfaction in men and women. Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapies for sexual dysfunction, including third-wave approaches, are effective in treating sexual dysfunction. Thus, third-wave cognitive-behavioral constructs may play a significant role in sexual satisfaction. This study intends to examine the predictive role of mindfulness awareness and attention, self-compassion and acceptance, and action constructs on cisgender heterosexual men's and women's sexual satisfaction. A web survey including self-report measures for assessing mindfulness awareness and attention (MAAS), self-compassion (SCS), acceptance and action (AAQ), and sexual satisfaction (GMSEX) was disseminated during 2022, and a sample of 420 participants was collected (n = 238 women; 56.7%; n = 182 men; 43.3%). No statistically significant differences were found between cisgender heterosexual men and women on mindfulness awareness and attention, self-compassion, acceptance and action, and sexual satisfaction. In addition, all variables account for 6.5% of cisgender heterosexual men's and women's sexual satisfaction variance, and mindfulness awareness and attention, self-compassion, and acceptance and action positively predicted sexual satisfaction. Overall, mindfulness awareness and attention, self-compassion, and acceptance and action play a significant predictive role in cisgender heterosexual men's and women's sexual satisfaction.