The Dark Triad Symptom Complex in Medical Staff of Oncological Institutions: A Cross-Cultural Analysis

Abstract

The problem of burnout syndrome (BS) of physicians is one of the important and complex problems in medicine and psychology, as it concerns the psychophysical well-being and health of specialists called to treat and help others. The need to study BS in oncological care workers is explained by the fact that this syndrome is associated with negative consequences for the care of cancer patients, increased costs for the medical staff and the health care system, as well as the impact on the safety of health care workers themselves. The mental stability of medical staff and, therefore, quality medical-psychological support for the cancer patient may prove to be an external resource in the fight against a terrible disease. It is relevant to find the causes that may underlie the deterioration of mental well-being of workers in oncological institutions, under which we assume some psychological features, to which we refer the qualities included in the symptom complex of the dark triad: narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy. For a deeper analysis of the expression of these traits, our research is based on cross-cultural analysis.