Married medical students and those with dependents were less likely to report high levels of burnout compared with single students without dependents, according to a cross-sectional study published in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers analyzed data from 114,016 medical school graduates who completed the Association of American Medical Colleges Graduation Questionnaire between 2017 and 2024. Burnout was measured using the 16-item Oldenburg Burnout Inventory for Medical Students, which evaluates two components: exhaustion and disengagement. Students scoring in the top quartile were classified as being at high risk.
Overall, 24% of students met criteria for high-risk exhaustion, and 23% met criteria for high-risk disengagement. Just over half (53%) identified as female.
After adjusting for demographic and educational factors, married students were 19% less likely to report high exhaustion and 9% less likely to report high disengagement compared with single students. Students with one or more dependents were 21% less likely to report high exhaustion and 7% less likely to report high disengagement than those without dependents.
When marital and dependent status were examined together, married students with dependents had the lowest risk of exhaustion, at 27% lower than single students without dependents. In contrast, single students with dependents were 20% more likely to report high exhaustion. Their risk of disengagement did not differ in a statistically significant way from single students without dependents.
Analyses by sex showed broadly similar patterns for male and female students. However, the association between marital status and exhaustion differed somewhat by sex, suggesting that social context may influence burnout risk in different ways.
Because the study was cross-sectional, it cannot determine whether marriage or parenting reduces burnout, or whether students at lower risk for burnout are more likely to marry or have children. Burnout was measured by self-report, and the “high risk” classification was based on the study population’s score distribution rather than a clinical diagnostic threshold.
The findings suggest that social and family context may be associated with differences in trainee well-being and highlight the need for further research into how institutional policies, caregiving responsibilities, and social support influence burnout risk during medical training.
The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. One researcher reported receiving grants from the National Institutes of Health during the conduct of the study; no other disclosures were reported. The funders had no role in the design, conduct, or reporting of the study.
Source: JAMA Network Open.
