The Role of Personality in Explaining Burnout, Work Addiction, and Stress-Related Growth in Prehospital Emergency Personnel

Background/Objectives: This is a cross-sectional study designed to explore the contribution of personality factors (the Alternative Five Factor Model) and lower order characteristics (responsive distress and self-discipline) to burnout, work addiction, and stress-related growth among Romanian prehospital emergency healthcare workers. Methods: A total of 266 prehospital professionals (41 physicians, 74 nurses, and 151 paramedics) participated in the study out of the 728 invited (36.5% response rate). The age of participants ranged between 20 and 57 years and 67.3% were men. The participants completed the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, the Dutch Work Addiction Scale (the short version), the Stress-Related Growth Scale, the Zuckerman–Kuhlman Personality Inventory, the Responsive Distress Scale, and the Self-Discipline Scale. Results: The results show that burnout was predicted by age, gender, impulsive sensation seeking, responsive distress, and self-discipline; work addiction was predicted by aggression–hostility, sociability, and responsive distress, while stress-related growth was predicted by age, activity, and self-discipline. Additionally, we found that emergency healthcare workers displayed lower impulsive sensation seeking, neuroticism–anxiety, and aggression–hostility, but displayed higher levels of activity and sociability in comparison with the general Romanian population, although these differences must be interpreted with caution as the general Romanian population tend to be significantly younger. Conclusions: This study provides new insights into the role of personality traits as risk factors for burnout and work addiction, and as protective factors for stress-related growth in prehospital emergency personnel. It is also among the few studies in this field to employ the Alternative Five Factor Model of personality.