Department of Medical Education and Simulation, University of Porto, Faculty of Medicine, Porto, Portugal.
PLoS One. 2017 Oct 17;12(10):e0185860. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185860. eCollection 2017.
Evidence on personality traits change implies it should be studied as an outcome and not only as an explanatory effect. Therefore, we aimed to assess how personality and academic achievement sway each other. Three cohorts of medical students (n = 181) comprised of school leavers and graduates, completed NEO-FFI when admitted (baseline) and later on medical training (follow-up). Previous achievement was measured as mean scores on national school examinations, and academic achievement as medical course average. Causal relations were studied by cross-lagged analysis.
Cross-sectional analysis at baseline showed differences between graduates and school leavers on personality, with graduates scoring lower on neuroticism (β = -12.344, p<0.001), and higher on openness to experience (β = 5.257, p<0.001), conscientiousness (β = 2.345, p = 0.004,) and agreeableness (β = 6.993, p<0.001). Longitudinal analyses indicated that personality traits and achievement tracked over time. Cross-lagged analysis found a positive significant association between academic achievement and neuroticism at baseline (β = 0.031, p = 0.014) and with being a graduate student (β = 0.766, p = 0.006). After adjusting, no association was found between previous achievement and personality at follow-up.
Some neuroticism may enhance medical academic achievement. The blurring of the initial differences between graduates and school leavers suggests a reasonable possibility of personality traits change along the medical course. Future research on medical selection processes cannot afford to ignore the influence of the medical school environment on personality traits change.
人格特质变化的证据表明，应将其视为一种结果进行研究，而不仅仅是作为一种解释性效应。因此，我们旨在评估人格和学业成绩如何相互影响。三个医学学生队列（n=181）包括毕业生和高中生，在入学（基线）和随后的医学培训期间完成了 NEO-FFI。先前的成绩是通过国家学校考试的平均分数来衡量的，而学业成绩是通过医学课程的平均分数来衡量的。通过交叉滞后分析研究因果关系。
基线的横断面分析显示了毕业生和高中生在人格方面的差异，毕业生的神经质得分较低（β=-12.344，p<0.001），开放性得分较高（β=5.257，p<0.001），尽责性得分较高（β=2.345，p=0.004），宜人性得分较高（β=6.993，p<0.001）。纵向分析表明人格特质和成绩随时间推移而跟踪。交叉滞后分析发现，学业成绩与基线时的神经质呈正相关（β=0.031，p=0.014），与研究生身份呈正相关（β=0.766，p=0.006）。调整后，在随访时，以前的成绩与人格之间没有关联。
一些神经质可能会提高医学学业成绩。毕业生和高中生之间最初差异的模糊化表明，在医学课程中人格特质变化的可能性相当大。未来的医学选择过程研究不能忽视医学学校环境对人格特质变化的影响。
