Des psychologues en milieu hospitalier lors de la crise sanitaire de la Covid-19 : mieux comprendre leur vécu à l’aide du concept de générativité

INTRODUCTION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone was confronted with their finitude, risking a crisis of meaning. Considering with Erikson (1950) that generativity is a great vector of meaning in life, which allows an individual to ensure the continuity of society through transmission and care, caregivers usually have a higher generativity score than the general population (Grossman & Gruenewald, 2017). This study then looks for signs of generativity among caregivers, hypothesising that it was particularly mobilised during this health crisis. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of psychologists working in hospitals on somatic wards in order to identify the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and signs of generativity. METHOD: In this exploratory, qualitative, prospective, multicenter study, nine psychologists working in hospital wards were interviewed individually to explore their experiences during a semi-structured interview. RESULTS: The markers of existential crisis linked to COVID-19, such as signs of exhaustion and anxiety, were prominent in their discourse. Strong elements of generativity are also found in the interviews. This reflects the testing of their resources. CONCLUSION: Generativity allowed adaptation during the crisis but does not seem to be sufficient to protect against exhaustion and existential crisis.