PERSONALITY AND STRESS IN CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRISTS

A randomly selected group of consultant psychiatrists (n = 39) working within the NHS in Scotland was compared with a combined group of phys icians and surgeons (n = 149) on several variables related to the stre ss process, including personality traits, coping strategies, psycholog ical distress, burnout, job stress and work demands. Psychiatrists rep orted fewer clinical work demands (p < .001), and their mean personali ty scores were significantly different from physicians and surgeons by being high in neuroticism (p = .009), openness (p = .003) and agreeab leness (p = .002), and low in conscientiousness (p = .04). Psychiatris ts reported higher work-related emotional exhaustion (p = .03) and sev ere depression (p = .02). However, psychiatrists did not report more w ork-related stress than physicians and surgeons. Many stress-related v ariables were highly correlated within the group of psychiatrists, sug gesting that there is a very general disposition to experience negativ e emotion (including job-related stress) in some individuals. Organisa tional and personal contributions to stress in the practice of psychia try are considered. There are personality characteristics that might d ispose some people toward psychiatry as a career and toward stress. Ho wever, there is no evidence to suggest that screening for admission to psychiatry in terms of personality or other psychological factors wou ld be useful or advisable.