Stress and coping among consultant physicians working in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Exposure to stressful working conditions without adequate stress-coping strategies may lead to stress and even psychiatric morbidity. There are a dearth of studies on stress-coping strategies among consultant physicians in the Arabian Gulf. OBJECTIVES: Determine stress-coping strategies among consultants in Saudi Arabia and the relationship of strategies to level of stress. DESIGN: Analytical cross-sectional study. SETTINGS: Conducted between November 2014 and March 2015 among physician consultants registered at the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Text messages were used to directly ask consultants to complete an online questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The 28-item Brief COPE inventory and the Perceived Stress Scale. SAMPLE SIZE: 582. RESULTS: The consultants were largely males (71%) and Saudi (56%), and their mean age was 46.9 (7.9) years. Adaptive stress-coping strategies were more frequently used than maladaptive stress-coping strategies (68% versus 49%). Stress levels were positively correlated with maladaptive stress-coping strategies (r=0.41, P