The influence of parental profession on offspring career choice among psychiatrists.

Abstract

Parents influence and shape children's career choices through practical factors, including access to resources and emotional factors such as role modelling and support. Preliminary evidence suggests that this may be even more relevant in psychiatry. To explore perspectives about parental professional influence toward or away from a career choice in psychiatry at two levels: (a) past influence on practising psychiatrists of their parents and (b) current influence on their own children. Medical doctors working in child and adolescent psychiatry (<i>n</i> = 44) and their family members (<i>n</i> = 24) participated in a reflective online questionnaire. Data were analysed with qualitative thematic analysis. We found three main themes for influence of parental profession on career choice of doctors working in psychiatry: balancing autonomy and guidance (i.e. explicit, implicit and role modelling), influence of the sociocultural background of the family (i.e. family values, shared interest and bringing work home) and lived experience of mental disorders. We found similar themes for the influence of doctors working in psychiatry on career choice of their children, but subthemes differed (i.e. recognition of absence of neutrality and effects of parent's profession on the mental well-being of their children). Themes covered socialisation (participating in culture of the profession) and subjectification (development of person behind the professional), and not as much on qualification (competencies professionals need to qualify). Clinicians can apply the results as a framework to strengthen their professional identity, their own role modelling within their families and during teaching. Clinician educators and students may apply them to well-informed decision-making about career choice.