Association between Grit and depressive symptoms at the timing of job start among medical residents during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic had an additional negative impact on the mental health of healthcare workers, including residents. Previous studies revealed that grit, which is an individual trait to achieve long-term goals unrelated to intelligence quotient, is not only positively associated with academic achievement and career success but also negatively correlated with depression. This study aimed to examine the association between grit and depressive symptoms among residents at the time of job start during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Japan. Materials and methods This cross-sectional study used data from all post-graduate year 1 residents from March 2020 to April 2022 at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. Grit was measured by the Japanese version of Grit-S. The resident’s depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. The association of interest was examined using logistic regression analysis. Results Among 221 residents, 28 (12.7%) have depressive symptoms. One unit increase in Grit-S score after adjusting for age, sex, graduated university, and sleeping hours was associated with lower odds of having depressive symptoms by 63% (odds ratio [OR]: 0.37; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.19–0.74). Further, the perseverance of effort subscale score was associated with lower odds of having depressive symptoms after covariate adjustment (OR: 0.43; 95% CI: 0.22–0.84). Conclusions Higher grit scores were associated with lower odds of having depressive symptoms among residents at the timing of job start during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regular mental health assessment is particularly important for residents with low grit scores at entry.

Association between grit and depressive symptoms among medical students, moderated by academic performance

“…A study by Zhang et al suggested that both perseverance of effort and consistency of interest were negatively associated with depression among university students [ 35 ]. In addition, Akaishi et al found that among 221 medical residents the total grit score and perseverance of effort were both negatively associated with depressive symptoms (odds ratio (OR) for the total grit score = 0.39, 95%CI 0.20 to 0.77; OR for perseverance of effort = 0.42, 95%CI 0.23 to 0.75) and that the consistency of interest appeared to be associated with depressive symptoms to some extent although the result was not statistically significant (OR = 0.61, 95%CI 0.36 to 1.05) [ 27 ]. In the present study, both perseverance of effort and consistency of interest were found to be inversely associated with depressive symptoms and the association between perseverance of effort and depression appeared to be greater (coefficient (b) = −3.7; 95%CI − 5.3 to − 2.1) than that between consistency of interest and depression (b = −1.8, 95%CI − 3.5 to − 0.2).…”

“…The Grit Scale measures the level of perseverance and passion for long-term goals as a noncognitive trait [ 24–26 ]. Many studies report that grit is inversely associated with depressive symptoms [ 12 , 22 , 23 , 27–38 ]. However, few studies have focused on the association between grit and depression among medical students [ 31 ].…”