ERIC Number: EJ929060
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-May
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0964-2633
EISSN: N/A
Stress, Depression, Workplace and Social Supports and Burnout in Intellectual Disability Support Staff
Mutkins, E.; Brown, R. F.; Thorsteinsson, E. B.
Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, v55 n5 p500-510 May 2011
Background: Staff providing support to people with intellectual disabilities are exposed to stressful work environments which may put them at an increased risk of burnout. A small prior literature has examined predictors of burnout in disability support staff, but there is little consensus. In this study, we examined direct and indirect associations between work stressors (i.e. challenging client behaviour), staff emotional response to the behaviour (i.e. perceived stress, anxiety, depression), social and organisational support resources, and staff burnout. Methods: A short survey examined client behaviour, staff psychological stress, anxiety, depression, social support (number, satisfaction), organisational support and burnout in 80 disability support staff in a community setting. Results: Burnout levels were similar to or slightly lower than normed values for human services staff. Cross-sectional regression analyses indicated that depression symptoms and organisational support were related to worse emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, whereas less social support was related to less personal accomplishment. Social support satisfaction (but not social support number or organisational support) moderated between high psychological stress to less emotional exhaustion. Conclusions: Taken together, these results suggest that depression symptoms and low organisational support were frequently concurrent with burnout symptoms. Furthermore, worker's personal and organisational supports may have helped bolster their sense of personal accomplishment, and buffered against the potential for emotional exhaustion.
Descriptors: Burnout, Anxiety, Depression (Psychology), Work Environment, Social Support Groups, Mental Retardation, Organizational Climate, Allied Health Personnel, Emotional Response
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A