The Relationship of Personality Traits, Demographic Factors, and Current Substance/Medication Use with Academic Burnout among Medical Students: The Moderating Role of Physical Activity

The present study was conducted to determine the relationship of personality traits, demographic factors, current substance/medication use, and physical activity with academic burnout among medical students, and examine the moderating role of physical activity in the relationship between personality traits and academic burnout.

In this cross-sectional study, implemented in Zahedan city in 2018, a total of 400 medical students from the four stages of basic sciences, physiopathology, stagership, and internship were selected by quota sampling method and evaluated using demographic information form, Baecke Physical Activity Questionnaire, Temperament and Character Inventory, and Breso’s Academic Burnout Questionnaire. In order to analyze the data, descriptive and inferential statistical tests (including Kruskal-Wallis test, Spearman's correlation coefficient, and hierarchical regression analysis).

156 men and 244 women participated in this study. The overall frequency of current substance/medication use and academic burnout were reported to be 27.5 and 25.8 percent, respectively. The obtained results showed that physical activity, persistence, and cooperativeness were negatively, and the years in medical school, substance/medication use, and novelty seeking were positively related to academic burnout. Also, the regression analysis results revealed the moderating role of physical activity in the relationship between novelty seeking and academic burnout.

It seems that addressing factors such as personality differences, the years in medical school, current substance/medications use, and orientation towards regular physical activities can make a significant contribution to changing medical students’ burnout levels.