The relationship between burn-out and personality in care-givers in a palliative care unit

This sudy was designed to test the hypothesis that there is a relationship between Burn out and personality in care-givers who are repeatedly confronted with the death of patients in a Palliative Care Unit. Three care-givers (N=37) were evaluated several months after the opening of their unit (Auto Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-3-R Personality Disorders Questionnaire and Inventaire de Mesure du Burn out de Maslach). Three categories of personality within the emotional exhaustion dimension are especially affected : self-defeating passive-agressive and obsessive-compulsive. Clinical characteristics of these personalities when confronted with the technical, relational, and reflexive requirements for care of patients in the terminal phase of their illness are discussed. Some reflections on the DSM classification are also presented.