The relationship between burnout and perfectionism in medical and dental students in Saudi Arabia

Objectives: The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between perfectionism and burnout, and the prevalence of burnout, in medical and dental students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 645 clinical-year medical and dental students and interns in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected using a self-reported questionnaire. The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory was used to measure burnout, and the Perfectionistic Self-Presentation Scale was used to measure perfectionism. SPSS version 18.0 was used for statistical analysis. Data were analyzed by linear regression, t-test, and ANOVA. Results: There was no significant correlation between burnout and any of the three types of perfectionism that were studied. The prevalence of normal or low burnout was 32.1%, and the prevalence of high burnout was 67.9%. The mean (standard deviation) of perfectionistic self-promotion was 42.99 (10.01), of non-display of imperfection was 42.314 (10.70), and of non-disclosure of imperfection was 29.50 (5.95). Burnout was higher in Saudis, students from low-income families, and clinical year students than in other subgroups. None of the three types of perfectionism were significantly correlated with gender, faculty (medicine or dentistry), marital status, family income, or type of college (government or private). Conclusions: Because medical and dental students suffer from high levels of burnout, health programs to support the students and provide palliative measures for their psychological burdens are recommended.