The Influence of Guilt on the Relationship Between Burnout and Depression

The Role of Guilt Feelings in the Development of the Burnout Process: The Influence on Psychosomatic Problems

Burnout is a psychological consequence of prolonged work-related stress. Previous studies have concluded that guilt feelings could explain the development of the burnout process and its relationship with other health disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mediating role of guilt feelings in the relationship between burnout and psychosomatic problems. The sample comprised 714 Brazilian teachers (82.10% women). Burnout was assessed using the Spanish Burnout Inventory (SBI). The hypotheses were evaluated together using a path model to test the mediating role of guilt feelings in the development of burnout and its relationship with psychosomatic problems. Two models were constructed: the hypothesized model (i.e., indolence → guilt → psychosomatic problems) vs. the alternative model (i.e., indolence → psychosomatic problems → guilt). According to the results, the hypothesized model obtained a satisfactory fit to the data, whereas the alternative model's fit was found to be inadequate. We concluded that the hypothesized model was a good representation of the relationship among burnout, guilt feelings and psychosomatic problems. We recommend taking into consideration feelings of guilt to improve the diagnosis of burnout.

The Participatory Approach in Healthcare Establishments as a Specific French Organizational Model at Hospital Department Level to Prevent Burnout among Caregivers: What Are the Perceptions of Its Implementation and Its Potential Contributions by These Caregivers?

(1) Background: Manifestations of burnout are regularly observed in the healthcare population. The participatory approach (PA) is a specific organization in the French health service aimed at preserving and improving the psychological health of these staff at work. The main objective of this study was to explore with healthcare professionals their perceptions of the effectiveness of the four PA components (multi-professional team meetings, in-service training, team support meetings and the project approach) implemented to date within French hospital departments, the methods of their implementation and the potential contributions of such an approach to their quality of working life and working conditions (QWLWC), and the quality of care provided. (2) Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 21 healthcare professionals in French hospital departments between March and April 2021. After they were recorded, the collected data was transcribed in full and subjected to thematic analysis. (3) Results: According to care providers, PA is only partially deployed in these departments today. Nevertheless, it is helping to develop multi-professional communication, and improves the quality of life at work as well as quality of care. (4) Conclusions: In the light of these results, the creation of a tool for the large-scale evaluation of PA implementation in hospitals emerges as essential, as its deployment in all hospital departments could help reduce the suffering of care professionals. In addition, a better articulation between the concepts of Magnet Hospitals and those of PA would prove heuristically promising.

Burnout and Its Relationship with Work Engagement in Healthcare Professionals: A Latent Profile Analysis Approach

The aim of this study was to use latent profile analysis to identify specific profiles of burnout syndrome in combination with work engagement and to identify whether job satisfaction, psychological well-being, and other sociodemographic and work variables affect the probability of presenting a profile of burnout syndrome and low work enthusiasm. A total of 355 healthcare professionals completed the Spanish Burnout Inventory, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, the Job Satisfaction Scale, and the Psychological Well-Being Scale for Adults. Latent profile analysis identified four profiles: (1) burnout with high indolence (BwHIn); (2) burnout with low indolence (BwLIn); (3) high engagement, low burnout (HeLb); and (4) in the process of burning out (IPB). Multivariate logistic regression showed that a second job in a government healthcare institution; a shift other than the morning shift; being divorced, separated or widowed; and workload are predictors of burnout profiles with respect to the HeLb profile. These data are useful for designing intervention strategies according to the needs and characteristics of each type of burnout profile.

Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance of the Spanish Burnout Inventory Among Professionals Across 17 Countries and Regions

Studies on the prevalence of burnout in professionals in service organizations who work in direct contact with the clients or users of the organization have concluded that burnout is a serious health disorder that has increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A significant advantage of the Spanish Burnout Inventory (SBI) over other instruments is that it provides a broader conceptualization of burnout by including feelings of guilt as a dimension of burnout to explain its development. However, the measurement invariance of the SBI across countries has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to test the measurement invariance of the SBI among professionals across 17 countries and regions in Europe, Latin America, and Asia, and in different languages. All the countries showed a good fit to the four-factor model, except the Indian sample, which was excluded from the measurement invariance study. Using the alignment method, it was possible to verify the scalar measurement invariance of the four SBI factors across 15 countries and one Spanish region (16 samples). The comparison of estimated latent means indicates that France is the country with the lowest scores on the Enthusiasm factor and the highest scores on the negative factors (Exhaustion, Indolence, and Guilt). In contrast, the Andean countries, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador, show the highest latent means on the Enthusiasm factor and the lowest means on the negative factors. These results support the validity of the SBI in the countries and regions in Europe and Latin America included in this study.

Influence of Resilience on Burnout Syndrome of Faculty Professors

This research aims to describe the relationship between resilience and burnout facing COVID-19 pandemics. The sample was n = 831 lecturers and professors of a Mexican public university. This study is a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional, explanatory, and ex post facto research using Structural Equations Modeling with latent variables under the partial least square's method technique. We used the CD-RISC-25 and SBI questionnaires to measure resilience and burnout, respectively. Structural Equations Modeling (SEM-PLS) allowed the visualization of the exogenous variable (resilience) in endogenous variables (dimensions of SBI burnout: E9 guilt, E7 emotional exhaustion, E8 indolence, and E6 work illusion). To this day, there are very few previous studies that jointly analyze in Mexico the characteristics of resilience and burnout in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings show that resources availability has the strongest correlation with accomplishment in teaching, followed by cynicism and emotional exhaustion. These results have important professional implications.

The Mediator Role of Feelings of Guilt in the Process of Burnout and Psychosomatic Disorders: A Cross-Cultural Study

Burnout was recently declared by WHO as an "occupational phenomenon" in the International Classification of Diseases 11th revision (ICD-11), recognizing burnout as a serious health issue. Earlier studies have shown that feelings of guilt appear to be involved in the burnout process. However, the exact nature of the relationships among burnout, guilt and psychosomatic disorders remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediator role of feelings of guilt in the relationship between burnout and psychosomatic disorders, and perform a cross-cultural validation of the multi-dimensional model by Gil-Monte in two samples of teachers (Portuguese vs. Spanish). The study sample was composed of 1,266 teachers, 1,062 from Spain, and 204 from Portugal. Burnout was measured by the Spanish Burnout Inventory. Hypotheses were tested together in a path model. The results obtained provide empirical evidence for the mediator role of guilt in the relationship between the Burnout syndrome and psychosomatic disorders in the sample of teachers from Spain and Portugal, and they contribute to the empirical validation of the model by Gil-Monte. The results indicate that guilt should be incorporated as a symptom of burnout in order to identify individuals affected by burnout and profiles or types of burnout to differentiate it from other pathologies like depression.

The Knowledge, Practice and Attitudes of Nurses Regarding Physical Restraint: Survey Results from Psychiatric Inpatient Settings

There is a considerable amount of literature describing how nurses’ knowledge contributes to their attitudes and practices related to patient physical restraint. However, whether or not there have been any improvements in nurses’ knowledge levels, attitudes or practices regarding physical restraint during the past few years is unknown. A survey was conducted on nurses (n = 133) in one psychiatric hospital in Hong Kong (n = 98, response rate = 74%). The data were analyzed using independent t-tests, ANOVA, a Mann–Whitney U test, a Kruskal–Wallis test and Spearman’s rho. In general, nurses had good restraint-related knowledge with satisfactory attitudes and practices, although their knowledge levels, attitudes, and practices regarding restraint varied. Having a higher age, seniority, and education level contributed to a higher restraint-related knowledge level. Male nurses demonstrated more desirable practices (i.e., care of restrained patients), while nurses with a higher education level were more likely to avoid restraint. Nurses’ restraint-related knowledge positively correlated with restraint practices. Although nurses’ knowledge levels, attitudes, and practices regarding restraint were found to be satisfactory, more training efforts should focus on young nurses working in psychiatric settings with less work experience and lower education levels. As some nurses seem to favor the use of restraint with limited reflection, more studies are needed to verify nurses’ emotions and how their emotions influence the use of restrictive practices.

Development of Burnout Syndrome in Non-university Teachers: Influence of Demand and Resource Variables

Psychosocial risks at work are an important occupational problem since they can have an impact on workers' health, productivity, absenteeism, and company profits. Among their consequences, burnout stands out for its prevalence and associated consequences. This problem is particularly noteworthy in the case of teachers. The aim of the study was to analyze the influence of some psychosocial factors (demand and resource variables) and risks in burnout development, taking into consideration the levels of burnout according to the Spanish Burnout Inventory (SBI). This paper contributes to advancing knowledge on this issue by analyzing the influence of work characteristics and personal characteristics on the progress of burnout. The sample consisted of 8,235 non-university teachers (2,268 men 27.5% and 5,967 women 72.5%), aged 22 to 70 (M = 45.16, SD = 9.18). For this purpose, statistical modeling by logistic regression was used. The results of this study showed that No burnout level was positively related with resources variables and negatively with demand variables. In the Medium-High levels and the higher levels of burnout (i.e., Profile 1 and Profile 2), there is a positive relation with demand variables and a negative one with resource variables. In conclusion, demand variables cause an increase in the burnout levels, influencing positively the movements between the levels of No burnout to Medium-High levels of burnout and Medium-High levels to Profile 1. At the same time, resource variables had a negative influence on burnout. However, the results in the movement between Profile 1 and Profile 2 were not expected. The variable Imbalance had a negative relationship with the movement between Profile 1 to Profile 2, and Social support and Autonomy at work had a positive relationship with this movement. Therefore, when professionals feel higher levels of burnout, lack of imbalance together with social support and autonomy could contribute to increased feelings of guilt and risk of higher burnout.

Influence of Burnout and Feelings of Guilt on Depression and Health in Anesthesiologists

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The WHO has included burnout as an occupational phenomenon in the ICD-11. According to the WHO, burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. The study aimed to evaluate the influence of feelings of guilt and burnout on health in Polish anesthesiologists. Alcohol and tobacco intake, psychosomatic disorders, and depression were assessed.

METHODS

The study had a non-randomized cross-sectional character. The sample consisted of 372 Polish anesthesiologists. Burnout was measured by the Spanish burnout inventory.

RESULTS

Post hoc analysis for burnout consequences: depression (F(5,366) = 17.51, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.193), psychosomatic disorders (F(5,366) = 13.11, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.152), and tobacco intake (F(5,366) = 6.23, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.078), showed significant differences between burnout with and without the highest levels of feelings of guilt. All the instruments applied were reliable.

CONCLUSIONS

Depression, psychosomatic disorders, and alcohol and tobacco intake are suspected to be consequences of the highest guilt levels related to burnout, i.e., Profile 2 according to the burnout model of Gil-Monte. Participation in prevention programs is recommended for these cases.

Work-related burnout syndrome in physicians in Spain

This article brings together the views of a working group to deliberate on Burnout among Physicians in Spain. The document is the result of the answers that different members of the group have prepared to different questions on the subject with conclusions derived from the discussion among all the participants. Burnout is an entity with a high incidence in physicians, with serious work, personal and economic repercussions, whose recognition as a disease is changing in recent years. Particularly affected are some specialties, such as Primary Care, Oncology, Intensive Care Medicine, and Palliative Care. The common factor being an increased qualitative or quantitative demand on the professional. Although it may have a substratum of personal characteristics, it is more commonly associated with extrinsic factors specific to the organisation of work and the management of occupational risks. It involves serious indirect costs for the health system including absenteeism, high financial costs and leads to loss of health and well-being in people who suffer it.

Depression, anxiety, and guilt in mothers with burnout of preschool and school-aged children: Insight from a cluster analysis

INTRODUCTION

The primary objective of this study is to identify the typology of exhausted mothers based on, depressive, anxiety, and guilt symptoms. And, secondarily, evaluate whether these profiles differ on parental stress, environmental stress, and parental burnout.

METHODS

Five hundred and fifty French-speaking mothers suffering from exhaustion completed several questionnaires assessing parental stress, general perceived stress, maternal guilt, and depressive and anxious symptomology. Results from two hundred and ten mothers with burnout symptoms were explored (mean age [SD] = 33.69 [5.1] years). In order to identify possible subgroups, a hierarchical cluster analysis was performed.

RESULTS

Three profiles were highlighted from the sample (Wilks' λ = 0.156, p < .0001): the first was characterized by high feelings of guilt (29.52%; n = 62), the second showed a dominance of anxiety symptoms and high feelings of guilt (36.19%; n = 76), and the fourth presented low levels of depression, anxiety, and feelings of guilt (23.3%, n = 49).

DISCUSSION

These findings suggest different profiles of burned out mothers that vary according to severity of anxiety, depression, and guilt. That suggests that parental burnout, depression and anxiety are distinct disorders. This study also makes it possible to show the aggravating effect of guilt in the experience of burnout. Additional research is warranted as it is important to more carefully consider possible appropriate intervention strategies given the differing experiences of burned out mothers.

Burnout Syndrome in Public Servants: Prevalence and association with Occupational Stressors

Abstract The objectives of this study were to identify the prevalence of Burnout Syndrome (BS) and the predictive power of occupational stressors for its dimensions - Enthusiasm toward the job (inverse), Psychological Exhaustion, Indolence and Guilt. This study assessed a random sample of 538 public servants from a State Court of Justice (RS/Brazil) who answered the Spanish Burnout Inventory, a sociodemographic questionnaire, a work-related questionnaire and and occupational stressors questionnaire. The prevalence identified was 6.5% for Profile 1 BS (Enthusiasm toward the job - inverse, Psychological Exhaustion, Indolence) and 4.4% for Profile 2 BS (Enthusiasm toward the job - inverse, Psychological Exhaustion, Indolence, Guilt). Stressors that predicted Burnout Syndrome were work content, work organization, type of public served, social environment of work, physical conditions of the workplace, work hours, workload, relationship with heads, and relationship with colleagues. Results suggest a need for intervention in occupational stressors present in work organization.

Empathy, compassion fatigue, guilt and secondary traumatic stress in nurses

Background:

Nurses are often faced with many stressful situations in life, including personal life challenges, the nature of work that requires standing long and being focused, commitment to patient care, and dealing with patients who need help.

Research objective:

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between empathy and compassion fatigue in nurses due to the mediating role of feeling guilty and secondary traumatic stress.

Research design:

This is a descriptive-correlation study.

Participants:

The statistical population consisted of all the nurses in Kerman hospitals in 2017. Five hospitals were randomly selected from among the private and public hospitals in Kerman. The sample size was considered 360, but after the deletion of misleading questionnaires, the final sample of study consisted of 300 nurses.

Ethical considerations:

Approval from the researcher’s university Institutional Review Board for ethical review was obtained.

Findings:

The data analysis in this study was done through the path analysis method using the Amos software. The results showed the mediating role of omnipotent guilt between empathy and compassion fatigue in the nurses, the mediating role of survivor guilt between empathy and compassion fatigue in the nurses, and the mediating role of secondary traumatic stress between empathy and compassion fatigue in the nurses. Also, empathy could explain 77% of the nurses’ compassion fatigue through feelings of guilt and secondary traumatic stress.

Discussion:

Pathogenic empathy-based guilt and secondary traumatic stress may help explain some of the links between clinical empathy and symptoms of compassion fatigue.

Conclusion:

Interventions and training programs targeting pathogenic empathy-based guilt and empathic secondary traumatic stress may be particularly important to help reduce compassion fatigue.

Work-related stress and well-being of direct care workers in intellectual disability services: a scoping review of the literature

Background: Understanding the nature of work-related stress and burnout among intellectual disability care staff is important to protect the well-being of these workers and encourage their retention in the sector. Though reviews of specific aspects of this literature have been conducted no article has sought to fully chart the range and nature of this research. Objective: This article addresses this gap by synthesizing the findings of such research with consideration to the future implications for protecting the well-being of care workers. Methods: A scoping review of the published literature was undertaken using a framework described in a previous article. Results: The findings of this review are presented thematically across six primary categories: challenging behavior; reciprocity; coping and stress; role issues; individual differences; and settings. A seventh theme, namely the positive aspects of intellectual disability care work was also identified through this process and is discussed. Conclusion: Occupational stress and strain is an internationally experienced issue in this sector. Challenging behavior and inequality in the relationships between staff and their clients, their colleagues, and their organization appear to exert a significant impact on the stress and well-being of workers in this sector. Excessive workplace demands, a low level of control, and a lack of support have been shown to be related to higher levels of stress and burnout among intellectual disability care workers.

Maternal burn-out: an exploratory study

INTRODUCTION

Maternal burn-out is a psychological, emotional and physiological condition resulting from the accumulation of various stressors characterised by a moderate but also a chronic and repetitive dimension. Little research has focused on this syndrome.

OBJECTIVE

The current study aims to assess maternal burn-out rate and to identify factors associated with this state of exhaustion.

METHOD

263 French mothers aged between 20 and 49 years answered five scales quantifying maternal burn-out, perceived social support, parental stress, depression and anxiety symptoms and history of postnatal depression.

RESULTS

About 20% of mothers were affected by maternal burn-out. The main factors related to maternal burn-out were having a child perceived as difficult, history of postnatal depression, anxiety, satisfaction of a balance between professional and personal life and parental stress.

CONCLUSION

This research shows the need for further work on maternal burn-out to better understand and prevent this syndrome.

Family Functions in Relation to Behavioral and Psychological Disorders in Chinese Culture

Family is comprised of two or more individuals related by blood, marriage, or adoption. It basically functions to satisfy the varied hierarchy of needs for each individual. In Chinese culture or society, family structure may have some uniqueness, and its functions are greatly influenced by Confucianism, which suppresses some desires of an individual in order to let him or her fit into the collectivistic community. Contemporary literature has illustrated that many behavioral and psychological disorders in China are associated with family, most of which might be due to the malfunctions of family. There is however no literature that specifically illustrates the link between the Chinese culture and family-related mental disorders. Anxiety, depression, personality disorder, sexual disorder, alcoholism, and others which are documented in China, nevertheless, are related to the malfunctioned family under Chinese culture. Future well-designed studies are needed to fully address the Chinese culture contributions to the etiopathologies of these disorders.

Prevalence of burnout in Polish anesthesiologists and anesthetist nursing professionals: A comparative non-randomized cross-sectional study

The purpose of the study was to assess the burnout levels in nurses ( N = 161) versus physicians ( N = 373). The levels of burnout were evaluated by the Polish adaptation of the Spanish Burnout Inventory (Cronbach's alpha > .70). High burnout level was found in 18.63 percent nurses and 12.06 percent anesthesiologists, and critical level in 3.74 percent nurses and 5.90 percent anesthetists. There were statistically significant differences in Burnout global score, Enthusiasm toward the job, Psychological exhaustion, and Indolence subscales between nurses and physicians. No significant differences were found between sexes in any variable.

Subjective happiness among mothers of children with disabilities: The role of stress, attachment, guilt and social support

BACKGROUND

Parenting a child with disabilities might affect the happiness of the mothers. Hence we adapted Wallander, Varni, Babani, Banis, and Wilcox's (1989) disability-stress-coping model to examine the impact of risk factors (specific stressors related to the child's disability) on the mother's adaptation (happiness). Intrapersonal factors (attachment) and social-ecological factors (social support) were hypothesized to predict adaptation. Both constitute 'risk-resistant' factors, which are mediated by the mother's perceived general stress and guilt.

METHOD

191 mothers of a child with a developmental disability (ages 3-7) answered questionnaires on happiness, specific and general stress, attachment, guilt and social support.

RESULTS

Attachment avoidance was directly and negatively associated with mothers' happiness. General stress was negatively associated with happiness, and mediated the association between anxious attachment, support, and specific stress with happiness. Guilt was negatively associated with happiness, and served as a mediator between attachment anxiety and support and happiness.

CONCLUSION

The findings of the current research show direct and indirect associations of risk factors with happiness and the role of general stress and feelings of guilt as mediators.

IMPLICATIONS

This study stresses the importance of attachment and social support to happiness and sheds light on the unique role of guilt in promoting or inhibiting happiness.

Psychometric properties of the Spanish Burnout Inventory among staff nurses

ACCESSIBLE SUMMARY

The burnout syndrome contributes to the deterioration in the quality of personal life as well as lower quality practice in healthcare personnel. Researchers have been concerned about the psychometric limitations of some previous questionnaires designed to evaluate burnout. The Spanish Burnout Inventory was developed to address the problems associated with other instruments, but it has not yet been validated in staff nurses. This study provides evidence that the Spanish Burnout Inventory has adequate psychometric properties to estimate burnout in staff nurses. The Spanish Burnout Inventory offers a theoretical proposal to explain the different components of burnout. The Spanish Burnout Inventory provides researchers and practitioners with an expanded conceptualization of the burnout syndrome, which can facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of nursing professionals.

ABSTRACT

Researchers have been concerned about the psychometric limitations of the some previous questionnaires designed to evaluate burnout. To address these problems associated with previous instruments, the Spanish Burnout Inventory (SBI) was developed. The instrument has not yet been validated in staff nurses. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the SBI. The sample consisted of 720 staff nurses from two Spanish general hospitals. The instrument is composed of 20 items distributed in four dimensions: Enthusiasm towards the job (five items), Psychological exhaustion (four items), Indolence (six items) and Guilt (five items). Data were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis. To assess the factorial validity of the SBI, four alternative models were tested. Results show that the four-factor model of the SBI has adequate psychometric properties for the study of burnout in staff nurses. This model fitted the data better than the alternative models. The study provides evidence of the adequate psychometric properties of a measure to evaluate burnout in nursing professionals. The SBI proposes a theoretical explanation for the different types of burnout, facilitating the diagnosis and treatment of staff nurses.

Toward validating the Italian version of the "Spanish Burnout Inventory": a preliminary study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to develop the Italian version of the Spanish Burnout Inventory (SBI) and to examine its psychometric properties within a sample of nursing staff.

METHOD

The study was cross-sectional and not randomized. The data were gathered using an anonymous, self-report questionnaire. The sample consisted of 391 staff nurses employed in three hospitals in the Northern Region of Italy To evaluate burnout, the SBI and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were administered.

RESULTS

An Exploratory Factor Analysis showed a four-factor structure close to the expected one. All Cronbach's alpha values were satisfactory. Furthermore, correlations support the concurrent validity.

CONCLUSION

Overall, the results of this study provided evidence that the SBI is an adequate instrument to study burnout in the Italian nursing sample and indicated the feeling of guilt as an important dimension to gauge the structure of this phenomenon.

Burnout-depression overlap: a review

Whether burnout is a form of depression or a distinct phenomenon is an object of controversy. The aim of the present article was to provide an up-to-date review of the literature dedicated to the question of burnout-depression overlap. A systematic literature search was carried out in PubMed, PsycINFO, and IngentaConnect. A total of 92 studies were identified as informing the issue of burnout-depression overlap. The current state of the art suggests that the distinction between burnout and depression is conceptually fragile. It is notably unclear how the state of burnout (i.e., the end stage of the burnout process) is conceived to differ from clinical depression. Empirically, evidence for the distinctiveness of the burnout phenomenon has been inconsistent, with the most recent studies casting doubt on that distinctiveness. The absence of consensual diagnostic criteria for burnout and burnout research's insufficient consideration of the heterogeneity of depressive disorders constitute major obstacles to the resolution of the raised issue. In conclusion, the epistemic status of the seminal, field-dominating definition of burnout is questioned. It is suggested that systematic clinical observation should be given a central place in future research on burnout-depression overlap.

The Use of Acceptance to Promote Positive Change by Decreasing Shame and Guilt: A Practice Exemplar

The use of acceptance by mental health clinicians in the clinical setting is an effective method for providing a safe environment for clients to make positive changes. Acceptance means that mental health clinicians are non-judgmental and acknowledge the clients' situations as they are. When actively used by clinicians, acceptance decreases clients' anxiety and the intensity of their feelings of guilt and shame. Clients are then able to begin to accept themselves as they are. The purpose of this article is to discuss the ways in which mental health clinicians promote clients' acceptance of themselves using the tools of acceptance and commitment therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy.

Influence of mobbing (workplace bullying) on depressive symptoms: a longitudinal study among employees working with people with intellectual disabilities

BACKGROUND

The problem of mobbing has attracted a great deal of attention over the past few years. This concern has increased the study of the phenomena, which has resulted in many scientific publications. Mobbing has been characterised as an emerging risk at work. The aim of this longitudinal study was to analyse the influence of mobbing on depressive symptoms in a sample of employees working with people with intellectual disabilities (ID).

METHOD

The sample consisted of 372 Spanish employees working with people with ID at 61 job centres in the Valencian Community (Spain). Seventy-nine (21.2%) participants were men, and 293 were (78.8%) women. Mobbing was evaluated by the Mobbing-UNIPSICO scale, and depressive symptoms were measured using the Zung Self Rating Depression Scale. Using analyses of variance (anova), we tested the differences in depressive symptoms according to the mobbing criteria indicated by Leymann, that is, frequency and duration at Time 1 and Time 2.

RESULTS

Employees who met the mobbing criteria: frequency (at least once a week) and duration (at least 6 months) at the two study times presented significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms than employees who met mobbing criteria at Time 1, but did not meet any criteria for mobbing at Time 2, and employees who did not meet any criteria for mobbing at Time 1 or Time 2.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that permanence of mobbing from Time 1 to Time 2 increases depressive symptoms.

The mediating role of feelings of guilt in the relationship between burnout and the consumption of tobacco and alcohol

Earlier studies have shown that feelings of guilt appear to be involved in the burnout process. However, the exact nature of the relationship between burnout, feelings of guilt, and tobacco and alcohol use is unclear. The purpose of this study was to analyze the role of feelings of guilt in the relationship between burnout and the consumption of tobacco and alcohol. Role conflict, Role clarity, and Feedback were included as predictors of burnout. The sample of this cross‐sectional study consisted of 260 Chilean administration and customer service workers. Hypotheses were tested using a path model. The hypothesized model (i.e., Indolence to guilt to tobacco/alcohol use) showed an adequate data fit, including a mediator role of feelings of guilt in the relationship between burnout and alcohol use. The results of this study recommending taking into consideration the evaluation of feelings of guilt as a symptom of burnout in order to develop a more reliable diagnosis of burnout syndrome and its consequences.

Psychometric properties of the 'Spanish burnout inventory' among employees working with people with intellectual disability

BACKGROUND

Burnout has been recognised as an important stress-related problem for employees working with people with intellectual disability. Researchers have been troubled by some of the psychometric limitations of the questionnaires developed to evaluate burnout. This study was designed to assess the psychometric properties of the Spanish Burnout Inventory.

METHOD

The sample consisted of 697 Spanish employees working in intellectual disability services. The instrument is composed of 20 items distributed in four dimensions: Enthusiasm towards the job, Psychological exhaustion, Indolence and Guilt. The psychometric properties were examined through the following analyses: confirmatory factor analysis and reliability. To assess the factorial validity of the Spanish Burnout Inventory, four alternative models were tested.

RESULTS

The four-factor model obtained an adequate data fit for the sample. The four sub-scales exhibited high reliability, with Cronbach alphas exceeding the critical value of 0.70.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides evidence showing the adequate psychometric properties of an alternative burnout measure that could facilitate the diagnosis of individuals with burnout. It recommends taking feelings of guilt into consideration in interventions designed to improve staff burnout.

Understanding burnout according to individual differences: ongoing explanatory power evaluation of two models for measuring burnout types

Background

The classic determination of burnout is by means of the dimensions exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy. A new definition of the syndrome is based on clinical subtypes, consisting of “frenetic” (involved, ambitious, overloaded), “underchallenged” (indifferent, bored, with lack of personal development) and “worn-out” (neglectful, unacknowledged, with little control). The dimensions of overload, lack of development and neglect form a shortened version of this perspective. The aims of this study were to estimate and to compare the explanatory power of both typological models, short and long, with the standard measurement.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional survey with a randomly sample of university employees (n=409). Multivariate linear regression models were constructed between the “Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey” (MBI-GS) dimensions, as dependent variables, and the “Burnout Clinical Subtype Questionnaire” (BCSQ-36 and BCSQ-12) dimensions, as independent variables.

Results

The BCSQ-36 subscales together explained 53% of ‘exhaustion’ (p<0.001), 59% of ‘cynicism’ (p<0.001) and 37% of ‘efficacy’ (p<0.001), while BCSQ-12 subscales explained 44% of ‘exhaustion’ (p<0.001), 44% of ‘cynicism’ (p<0.001), and 30% of ‘efficacy’ (p<0.001). The difference in the explanatory power of both models was significant for ‘exhaustion’ (p<0.001), and for ‘cynicism’ (p<0.001) and ‘efficacy (p<0.001).

Conclusions

Both BCSQ-36 and BCSQ-12 demonstrate great explanatory power over the standard MBI-GS, while offering a useful characterization of the syndrome for the evaluation and design of interventions tailored to the characteristics of each individual. The BCSQ-36 may be very useful in mental health services, given that it provides a good deal of information, while the BCSQ-12 could be used as a screening measure in primary care consultations owing to its simplicity and functional nature.