Mazankina E.V. Investigation of the factors of attitude to the health of resident doctors

Physicians face high physical and emotional stress on a daily basis and often forget to take care of their own health. This behavior is based on maladaptive attitudes towards health and its evaluation as a resource and tool, rather than an independent value. This is especially characteristic of young physicians who are just beginning their professional journey.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the attitudes toward health of first-year and second-year resident physicians, as well as psychological factors that promote or hinder the formation of adequate attitudes and behavioral strategies. 

The following empirical methods were used: the technique of diagnostics of attitudes towards health, the questionnaire “Attitude towards health”, questionnaire “Profile of healthy lifestyle”, questionnaire Mini-SMIL, method “Integrative test of anxiety”, methodology for the study of self-esteem. Statistical processing of the obtained data was carried out using the SPSS program, the Pearson correlation coefficient, and factor analysis of data. The study involved 162 resident physicians, including 135 women and 27 men aged 24–40 years.

The results showed that resident physicians have a dominant harmonious type of attitude characterized by deep systematized knowledge about health and methods of its maintenance. The second place was occupied by the attitude of phobic type, doctors with which experience a variety of fears related to the possibility of disease, which emphasizes the importance of health for this group of specialists. The third place is occupied by unstable attitude – the doctors have limited knowledge about health, are not ready to follow a healthy lifestyle and do not perceive it as a significant value. They rarely experience emotions related to health. Despite having knowledge about health saving principles, the majority of doctors do not follow health-saving behaviors, which indicates low motivation to preserve both physical and mental health. The most favorable aspect in the structure of healthy lifestyle of resident physicians turned out to be the sphere of interpersonal relations, the least developed was the indicator of physical activity. Personality traits are correlated with health attitudes: impulsivity and rigidity are associated with maladaptive types of health attitudes, while overcontrol and pessimism are negatively related to the perception of health in all its aspects (knowledge, emotions, behavior, values). Optimists demonstrate positive attitudes towards all components of health. 

These findings highlight the need to further explore the factors influencing physicians' attitudes toward their health and to develop support programs to improve their physical and mental well-being.

Key words: attitude toward health, maladaptive types of attitude, adaptive types of attitude, health-saving behavior, responsibility for health, personality anxiety, situational anxiety, hypochondriacism, emotional lability, optimism, self-relationship

For citation: Mazankina, E.V. (2025). Investigation of the factors of attitude to the health of resident doctors. New Psychological Research, No. 2, 218–235. DOI: 10.51217/npsyresearch_2025_05_02_10