Abstract
BACKGROUND: Professional choice is an important aspect of one's life and is associated with biopsychosocial and economic factors. Medical and co-medical professional choices may involve a noble intention to contribute to patients. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the association between medical and co-medical professional choices and affective temperament, parental bonding, and intelligence. METHODS: The dataset included 130 individuals (19 with medical or co-medical professional choices and 111 without). Data on participants' demographics, intelligence levels, affective temperament, and parental bonding were collected and subsequently compared among the two groups using an unpaired t-test and χ (2) test. Thereafter, binomial logistic regression analysis using the likelihood ratio and forward method was performed, with medical or co-medical professional choice as the dependent variable and potentially significant variables (p < 0.2) in the above t-test or χ (2) test as independent variables. RESULTS: Only higher paternal care was significantly associated with medical and co-medical professional choices. CONCLUSION: Our study findings suggest that paternal care is associated with medical or co-medical professional choices. Further prospective studies are required to determine causal relationships and investigate other factors related to such choices, given the non-association of all other variables in the study.