Personal Factors of Emotional Burnout in Patients with "Hypertension at Work"

The primary aim of this research was to indicate the emotional burnout syndrome (EBS), define its intensity and quality characteristics in patients with Hypertension (HTN) at work: to study the role of such a personal factor as perfectionism and psychological defense mechanisms in development of EBS in HTN patients. We tested 85 patients with HTN at Work and 85 patients with Essential HTN. The research showed that EBS factors are presented in both groups of HTN patients. All examined HTN patients demonstrated a low self-esteem in terms of personal accomplishment. Patients with HTN at Work distinguish from patients with Essential HTN by more intense EBS factors, such as "emotional exhaustion" and "depersonalization". The results illustrated that HTN patients and patients with HTN at Work in particular distinguish by high intensity of socially prescribed perfectionism and representation of defense mechanisms including displacement, denial, projection and reaction formation. The correlation analysis showed positive significant correlations between these factors and intensity of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization within EBS. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.