Abstract
Objectives: The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship among professional self-concept, self-esteem and job satisfaction in the clinical dental hygienists and provide the basic data for the effective management of clinical dental hygienists. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was filled out by 250 clinical dental hygienists in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, Jeolla, and Gyeongsang Provinces from February 1 to March 30, 2017. Data were analyzed using IMB SPSS/WIN 22.0 program. Professional self-concept, self- esteem and job satisfaction according to the general characteristics and job characteristics were analzyed by independent t-test, one way ANOVA and Tukey. The relationship among professional self-concept, self- esteem and job satisfaction was found by Pearson’s correlation. Multiple regression analysis was used to find out the relationship among professional self-concept, self-esteem and job satisfaction in the clinical dental hygienist. The significance level was a=0.05. Results: Clinical dental hygienist’s professional self-concept was 3.76 points, self-esteem was 3.08 points and job satisfaction was 3.35 points. In general characteristics, professional self-concept showed the significant differences by age (p=0.043), marital status (p=0.005), level of education (p=0.001), duration of clinical career (p=0.003) and economic level (p=0.001). Job satisfaction showed the significant differences by age (p=0.019) and level of education (p=0.024). In job related characteristic, professional self-concept showed the significant differences by working area (p=0.001), working intensity (p=0.011) and position (p=0.001), while job satisfaction showed the significant differences by working area (p=0.014) and working intensity (p=0.001). Influencing factors in the job satisfaction in the clinical dental hygienists were age, working intensity, self-esteem, and professional self-concept. The explanatory of the model was 29.0%. Conclusions: Professional self-concept, self-esteem and job satisfaction in the clinical dental hygienists are related. To improve job satisfaction of the clinical dental hygienists, program development and institutional support to improve self-esteem and professional self-concept are needed.
Figures & Tables
Table 1. Reliability of instrument scales
