A prospective study of personality characteristics, occupational stressors, and burnout among school psychology practitioners

This longitudinal study investigated the prevalence and antecedents of burnout in a large sample of school psychologists from a Southeastern state. Approximately 40% of the school psychologists reported high levels of emotional exhaustion, 10% reported depersonalization reactions, and 19% reported a reduced sense of personal accomplishment at Time 1. Cross-sectional regression analyses suggested that personality variables (e.g., extraversion, agreeableness) related to burnout reports over and above stressful occupational events and demographic variables. Furthermore, a multidimensional model of burnout was supported in that there were differential correlates of the burnout dimensions. For example, Emotional Exhaustion scores and Depersonalization scores were more strongly associated with stressful occupational experiences than Reduced Personal Accomplishment scores. The longitudinal data demonstrated the transactional nature of the relationship between burnout and stressful occupational experiences suggesting that ndt only may stressful occupational experiences predispose individuals to,experience burnout, but also that high burnout levels may predispose individuals to experience additional occupational stress. Finally, moderate to high levels of stability were demonstrated for burnout reports over the 7-month time interval, indicating that many school psychologists are chronically stressed on the job. (C) 1998 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.