Tolerance for Ambiguity and Psychological Defense Mechanisms in Resident Physicians: Gender Differences

Tolerance or intolerance for ambiguity affects psychological defense mechanisms in male and female medical residents. This study involved 89 first-year postgraduate medical students (35 men, 54 women). Their indicators of tolerance for ambiguity showed no gender differences. Regardless of gender, the participants demonstrated a highly significant predominance (p ≤ 0.001) of adaptive defenses over psychotic, infantile, or neurotic ones. Using Spearman’s rank correlation and the Benjamini–Hochberg correction (FDR < 0.05), the authors identified statistically significant, gender-specific associations between tolerance/intolerance for ambiguity and specific psychological defense mechanisms. In men, tolerance for ambiguity was negatively associated with hypochondria, while intolerance positively correlated with rationalization. In women, tolerance negatively correlated with repression and reaction formation, while intolerance was positively associated with omnipotent control, sublimation, altruism, and suppression. Therefore, the male and the female young doctors utilized different psychological defense mechanisms to cope with ambiguity in their professional medical activity. The men demonstrated a trend toward somatization and cognitive control, while the women preferred a more flexible, yet potentially energy-consuming repertoire of defense mechanisms. Consequently, assessing ambiguity-coping strategies to identify professional burnout risks requires a gender-based approach when designing psychological support programs aimed at pre venting medical errors.