{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]],"date-time":"2026-09-25T19:48:29Z","timestamp":1790365709004,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,12]],"date-time":"2023-10-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1697068800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Pathological Altruism and the concept of Helper Syndrome are comparable. We focused on Schmidbauer\u2019s description because it provides a comprehensive and testable definition. Nevertheless, this concept of Helper Syndrome has not yet been empirically investigated in a sample of helping professionals.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Aim<\/jats:title><jats:p>To investigate whether nurses working with covid-19 patients are more likely to have Helper Syndrome compared with individuals from non-helper professions.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>The online survey took place between April 2021 and February 2022, in urban and rural regions of Salzburg, during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u2009447) and controls (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u2009295) were compared regarding Helper Syndrome characteristics. To measure characteristics of Helper Syndrome the following questionnaires were used: WHO-Five (WHO-5), selected scales of the Personality, Style and Disorder Inventory (PSSI) and the Freiburg Personality Inventory-Revised (FPI-R), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Insecure gender identity and self-assessment of having a Helper Syndrome was measured by a Likert scale.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>In both groups, Helper Syndrome was detected (nurses 29.5%, controls 30.5%). Participants with Helper Syndrome showed significant differences in personality styles and traits, namely significantly higher scores for <jats:italic>Foreboding-Schizotypical Personality Style<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Spontaneous-Borderline Personality Style, Amiable-Histrionic Personality Style, Ambitious-Narcissistic Personality Style, Loyal-Dependent Personality Style, Helpful-Selfless Personality Style, Carefully-Obsessive Personality Style, Optimistic-Rhapsodic Personality Style, Social Orientation, Strain, Emotionality<\/jats:italic> and lower well-being. The only difference between nurses and controls was that nurses were significantly less open aggressive.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>For the first time, we were able to demonstrate Schmidbauer\u2019s concept of Helper Syndrome. According to our data, we found a subgroup of individuals similar to Schmidbauer\u2019s description of Helper Syndrome, but this sample was independent of helping or non-helping profession. These individuals seem to be at higher risk for psychiatric disorders.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2023.1150150","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,12]],"date-time":"2023-10-12T09:23:46Z","timestamp":1697102626000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Helper Syndrome and Pathological Altruism in nurses \u2013 a study in times of the COVID-19 pandemic"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Victoria E.","family":"Maringgele","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Martin","family":"Scherr","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wolfgang","family":"Aichhorn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andreas K.","family":"Kaiser","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"83","DOI":"10.1026\/0012-1924.53.2.83","article-title":"Teststatistische pr\u00fcfung und normierung der deutschen versionen des EUROHIS-QOL Lebensqualit\u00e4t-index und des WHO-5 Wohlbefindens-index [testing and standardization of the German version of the EUROHIS-QOL and WHO-5 quality-of life-indices]","volume":"53","author":"Br\u00e4hler","year":"2007","journal-title":"Diagnostica"},{"key":"ref2","volume-title":"Statistik f\u00fcr Sozialwissenschaftler [statistics for social scientists]","author":"B\u00fchner","year":"2009"},{"key":"ref3","volume-title":"Nicht\u00e4rztliches Gesundheitspersonal 2020 in Krankenanstalten nach Geschlecht, Fachrichtung und Bundesland (Stand 31.12.2020)","year":"2021"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"240","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijnurstu.2014.07.001","article-title":"Risk factors and prevalence of burnout syndrome in the nursing profession","volume":"52","author":"Ca\u00f1adas-De la Fuente","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int. 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