Psychological distress and posttraumatic growth among physicians working in paediatric and adult oncology settings: A cross-sectional study

Background: Physicians in oncology face emotionally demanding conditions that increase psychological distress, but whether this exposure promotes posttraumatic growth (PTG) remains unclear. Objective: To compare distress and PTG among physicians in paediatric and adult oncology and examine their relationship. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 265 physicians from four groups were assessed using HADS, DASS-21, and PTGI. Group differences were analysed with ANOVA/ANCOVA adjusting for age, experience, and hospital type; correlations were examined with Pearson analysis. Results: Paediatric physicians showed higher DASS-21 stress, anxiety, depression (p ≤ 0.033). Department was associated with HADS-D (p = 0.047) but not HADS-A. PTGI scores did not differ across groups (p > 0.05). Distress measures were strongly correlated (r = 0.67–0.83), whereas associations with PTG were weak and negative (r = −0.10 to −0.15). Conclusion: Paediatric oncology physicians experience greater psychological distress, but this does not translate into higher PTG, suggesting that growth depends on contextual and organisational factors rather than distress severity alone.