Self-Perceived Mental Health and Perceived Discrimination in Family Physicians and Residents: A Comparative Study Between Men and Women

Article Figures & Data

Table 1.

Demographics Between Men and Women

	Total (N = 566)	Men (N = 130)	Women (N = 436)	Statistics
Demographic features n%
Age years (mean; SD)	36.5 7.7	36.5 7.3	36.5 7.9	t = 0.1, P = 0.91
Marital status (Married/partnered)	296 52.3	76 58.5	220 50.5	χ² = 2.5, P = 0.10
Has children (Yes)	304 43.7	68 52.3	236 54.1	χ² = 0.1, P = 0.71
Professional role
Family medicine resident	317 56.0	92 70.8	225 51.6	χ² = 14.9, P < 0.001;
Family doctor	249 44.0	38 29.2	211 48.4	Cramer’s V = 0.16

Table 2.

Professional Activities and Adversities Between Men and Women

	Total (N = 566)	Men (N = 130)	Women (N = 436)	Statistics
Professional activities n %
Year of residency^a
1^st year	102 32.2	33 35.9	69 30.7
2^nd year	124 39.1	37 40.2	87 38.7	t = 1.6, P = .44
3^rd year	91 28.7	22 23.9	69 30.7
Maximum working hours per day (mean; SD)	17.9 5.9	19.7 5.5	17.4 5.9	t = 3.9, P < .001; Hedge’s g = 0.39
Ideal working hours per day (mean; SD)	7.1 1.8	7.2 2.1	7.0 1.7	t = 0.8, P = .4
Professional adversities n %
Patients with severe suicidal ideation (Yes)	319 56.4	71 54.6	248 56.9	χ² = 0.2, P = .64
Patients who committed suicide (Yes)	63 11.1	10 7.7	53 12.2	χ² = 2.0, P = .15
Attending physician of a patient who died (Yes)	263 46.5	69 53.1	194 44.5	χ² = 2.9, P = .08
Required specialized support (Yes)^b	23 8.7	2 2.9	21 10.8	Fisher’s exact 0.04; Cramer’s V = 0.12
Attacks (Yes)	388 68.6	82 63.1	306 70.2	χ² = 2.3, P = .12
Physical (Yes)^c	42 10.8	12 14.6	30 9.8	χ² = 1.5, P = .21
Verbal (Yes)^c	365 94.1	81 98.8	284 92.8	χ² = 4.1, P = .04; Cramer’s V = 0.10
Psychological (Yes)^c	233 60.1	47 57.3	186 60.8	χ² = 0.3, P = .56
Assailant patients (Yes)^c	298 76.8	57 69.5	241 78.8	χ² = 3.1, P = .07
Assailant patient’s relative (Yes)^c	325 83.8	65 79.3	260 85.0	χ² = 1.5, P = .21
Assailant colleague (Yes)^c	132 34.0	32 39.0	100 32.7	χ² = 1.1, P = .28
Assailant – student (Yes)^c	14 3.6	4 4.9	10 3.3	χ² = 0.4, P = .48

Table 3.

Mental Health Problems and Perceived Discrimination

	Total (N = 566)	Men (N = 130)	Women (N = 436)	Statistics
Mental health problems n %
Any mental health problem (Yes)	271 47.9	36 27.7	235 53.9	χ² = 27.5, P < .001; Cramer’s V = 0.22
Major depression (Yes)	220 38.9	31 23.8	189 43.3	χ² = 16.0, P < .001; Cramer’s V = 0.16
Anxiety disorders (Yes)	229 40.5	30 23.1	199 45.6	χ² = 21.1, P < .001; Cramer’s V = 0.19
Burnout (Yes)	147 26.0	18 13.8	129 29.6	χ² = 12.9, P < .001; Cramer’s V = 0.15
Suicidal ideation (Yes)	73 12.9	11 8.5	62 14.2	χ² = 2.9, P = .08
Sleeping problems (Yes)	190 33.6	22 16.9	168 38.5	χ² = 20.9, P < .001; Cramer’s V = 0.19
Trauma related (Yes)	45 8.0	5 3.8	40 9.2	χ² = 3.8, P = .06
Received treatment (Yes)^a	147 54.2	20 55.6	127 54.0	χ² = 0.02, P = .86
Pharmacological (Yes)^b	120 81.6	18 90.0	102 80.3	χ² = 1.0, P = .29
Self-administrated (Yes)^c	26 21.7	4 22.2	22 21.6	χ² = 0.004, P = .95
Psychotherapy (Yes)^b	121 82.3	15 75.0	106 83.5	χ² = 0.8, P = .35
Perceived state of health (mean; SD)	77.2 18.2	82.6 15.9	75.5 18.5	t = 3.9, P < .001; Hedge’s g = 0.39
Perceived distress (mean; SD)	59.7 28.9	53.2 30.9	61.7 28.1	t = −2.9, P = .003; Hedge’s g = 0.29
Perceived Discrimination Mean SD
Total score	27.2 10.4	29.2 10.7	26.6 10.2	t = 2.5, P = .01; Hedge’s g = 0.25