The relationship between fear of malpractice and job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, and job performance: A structural equation modeling approach

Physicians and dentists experience malpractice-related concerns that may affect their working lives. This study examined the relationship between fear of malpractice (FM) and job performance (JP), considering job satisfaction (JS) and emotional exhaustion (EE) as mediators. Data were collected from 187 physicians and dentists using established scales. Mean FM was 25.22 ± 4.86. FM was negatively associated with JS (β = −.485, p < .05) and positively associated with EE (β = .597, p < .05), but not directly associated with JP (β = −.123, p > .05). JS was positively associated with JP (β = 1.295, p = .003), while EE showed an unexpected positive association (β = 1.256, p = .006). These coefficients exceeded 1.0, apparently reflecting substantial overlap between job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion and warranting caution. The indirect effect of fear of malpractice on job performance through job satisfaction was negative and significant (B = −.348, 95% BC CI [−1.043, −.117]), whereas the indirect effect through emotional exhaustion was positive and statistically significant (B = .416, 95% BC CI [.124, 1.231]), contrary to the hypothesized direction. In sensitivity analyses, neither indirect effect remained significant after omitting the other mediator-to-job performance path.