Relationship between Anxiety and Burnout among Chinese Physicians: A Moderated Mediation Model

OBJECTIVE The main goal of this research was to investigate the complex relationships among coping styles, personality, burnout, and anxiety using a moderated mediation analysis. METHODS A random cluster sampling procedure was used to select a total of 1274 physicians from two tertiary grade A hospitals in Heilongjiang Province, which is located in northeast China. The Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Chinese Maslach Burnout Inventory (CMBI), Chinese version of the EPQ-revised Short Scale, and the Trait Coping Style Questionnaire (TCSQ) were used to gather data. Moderated mediation analysis was used in this study; it was executed using the PROCESS macro so that the mediators and moderator could function together in the same model. RESULTS The prevalence of anxiety symptoms among the physicians was 31%, and there were no differences between the sexes. The results showed that positive and negative coping styles partially mediated the association between burnout and anxiety symptoms in physicians. The mediated effect of positive coping styles was moderated by Eysenck's Psychoticism traits. CONCLUSIONS Personality traits moderate the strength of the relationships between burnout and anxiety mediated by positive coping styles; however, personality traits do not moderate the strength of the relationships between burnout and anxiety mediated by negative coping styles.