Understanding the Links between Inferring Mental States, Empathy, and Burnout in Medical Contexts

Abstract

It is generally accepted that empathy should be the basis of patient care. However, this ideal may be unrealistic if healthcare professionals suffer adverse effects when engaging in empathy. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of inferring mental states and different components of empathy (perspective-taking; empathic concern; personal distress) in burnout dimensions (emotional exhaustion; depersonalization; personal accomplishment). A total of 184 healthcare professionals participated in the study (23% male, Mage = 44.60; SD = 10.46). We measured participants’ empathy, the inference of mental states of patients, and burnout. Correlation analyses showed that inferring mental states was positively associated with perspective-taking and with empathic concern, but uncorrelated with personal distress. Furthermore, emotional exhaustion was related to greater levels of personal distress and greater levels of inferences of mental states. Depersonalization was associated with greater levels of personal distress and lower levels of empathic concern. Personal accomplishment was associated with the inference of mental states in patients, lower levels of personal distress, and perspective-taking. These results provide a better understanding of how different components of empathy and mental state inferences may preserve or promote healthcare professionals’ burnout.

What is the Link Between Different Components of Empathy and Burnout in Healthcare Professionals? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Five studies of those that used the IRI reported correlations between components of empathy and burnout 44 , 45 , 50 , 59 , 60 with consistent results. All of them found that Depersonalization was negatively correlated to Perspective Taking.…”

“… 54 As Personal Accomplishment can be expressed as a positive achievement (e.g. 44 , 50 ) or as a reduced self-development (e.g. 45 , 48 ), for clarity of findings, it is reported through the results section as a reduced Personal Accomplishment.…”

“…All of them found that Depersonalization was negatively correlated to Perspective Taking. In addition, four studies 44 , 45 , 50 , 60 showed that Depersonalization was also negatively associated with Empathic Concern, and a reduced Personal Accomplishment was negatively correlated with Perspective Taking. Three studies 44 , 45 , 50 found that Emotional Exhaustion was positively linked to Personal Distress.…”

The humanity inventory: Developing and validating an individual difference measure of dehumanization propensity

“…Under some conditions, however, engaging a dehumanizing perception may prove adaptive. Medical professionals have to distance themselves from their patients in order to provide efficient health care (Cheng et al., 2017; Haque & Waytz, 2012), and the failure to do so may result in burnout (Delgado et al., 2021; Vaes & Muratore, 2013). Such results suggest that dehumanization is not necessarily uniquely reserved for evil—they indicate that, at least occasionally, we may all engage such perceptions.…”

The Empathic Capacity and the Ability to Regulate It: Construction and Validation of the Empathy Management Scale (EMS)

“…Empathy is necessary for successful professional–user interactions [ 1 ]; it also plays a relevant role in therapeutic relationships and the quality of care [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. In addition, empathy is related to personal welfare (e.g., preventing burnout in healthcare professionals) [ 5 ].…”