Coping with job stress by hospital doctors: a comparative study

Background Currently only few studies exists focusing on cross-cultural differences in job stress and stress management. The present study aimed to examine and compare job stress and coping behaviour of Australian and German physicians. Methods The present study was designed as a cross-ectional comparison using questionnaire data of 310 German and 256 Australian hospital doctors. The questionnaires contained items on demography and self-rated subjective coping strategies. The Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) and the Brief COPE Questionnaire were used to analyze national differences in coping behaviour. Results According to the comparison, German physicians perceived higher values of job stress. Coping behaviour differed significantly between the two doctor samples. Conclusions This study demonstrated a number of similarities, but also some unexpected differences in Australian and German doctors' job stress and coping strategies. These findings may help direct further research on cross-cultural investigations and health promotion interventions in both countries.