Wellbeing of Healthcare Personnel During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Mediation Model of Behavioural Emotion Regulation Between Burnout and Addictive Behaviours

Abstract

This study aimed to examine whether behavioural emotion regulation mediated the relationship between burnout and addictive behaviours and whether life satisfaction moderated this association among Romanian healthcare personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 137 healthcare professionals (84% women, Mage = 41.09, SD = 11.22, Mwork experience = 13.76, SD = 11.09) filled out a set of online scales. The results indicated positive associations between burnout and maladaptive behavioural emotion regulation strategies (withdrawal and ignoring), as well as a negative association between burnout and the adaptive strategy of active approach. Positive associations between burnout and compulsive eating, between withdrawal and compulsive eating were also found. In contrast, active approach was negatively associated with alcohol and drug use. Mediation analysis suggested that the association between burnout and compulsive eating was indirectly linked to withdrawal (b = .06, CI [.0055, .1221]). However, moderated mediation analyses showed that life satisfaction did not significantly moderate the relationship between burnout and compulsive eating among healthcare personnel (R²=.004, p =.41).