Burnout in Social Workers Treating Children as Related to Demographic Characteristics, Work Environment, and Social Support.

Social workers are committed to the protection and empowerment of populations at risk; they help these populations improve their physical and mental well-being within a society characterized by great economic inequality and a high potential for vulnerability (Bateman, 2002). Daily, social workers face the busy and complex world of human behavior in social contexts, a world in which relationships break down, emotions run high, and personal needs go unmet (Howe, 2004). As a consequence, social workers are vulnerable to a sense of burnout. Burnout in the context of the helping professions began to attract research attention at the beginning of the 1980s; it focused on identification of factors that contribute to professionals' loss of motivation and interest in therapeutic work and to worker turnover. Early studies emphasized definitions and characteristics of the concept (Freudenberger, 1980; Maslach, 1987) and explored personal and environmental factors that may reduce the burnout phenomenon (Etzion & Pines, 1986; Maslach, 1982; Paine, 1982; Pines, 1984, 1989). Social workers were included in those caring professions studied for their experience of burnout (Bargal & Guterman, 1996; Cohen, 1990; McNeely, 1992). However, these studies made no distinction between workers treating adults (over age 21) and those treating children. The present study examined Israeli social workers who directly treat only children and youths and thereby face unique challenges and characteristics that may place them at high risk for burnout. SOCIAL WORKERS TREATING CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS Children and adolescents are one of the largest populations receiving social workers' attention, constituting more than 50% of referrals to social welfare services (Herz, Harada, Lecklitner, Rauso, & Ryan, 2009; Kazdin, 2000). Epidemiological studies estimate that between 9% and 29% of children under 18 years of age exhibit developmental, emotional, or behavioral disorders to varying degrees, most of which are long lasting and predictive of problems in adulthood (Kazdin, 2000; Ronen, 2007). Due to children's immaturity, naivete, and vulnerabilities, social workers face constant and unique demands to meet high ethical standards and to work concurrently with a complex mix of related systems, such as parents, family, and colleagues (Lonergan, O'Halloran, & Crane, 2004). Furthermore, children's developmental needs and limitations require social workers to summon high levels of creativity, intellectual ability, emotions, and compassion to communicate and work with them (Pearlman & Saakvitne, 1995; Rae & Fournier, 1999). Moreover, treatment of children requires social workers to expend considerable effort to maintain the child's motivation for treatment (for example, through the child's active participation in treatment-related decision making) (Kazdin, 1988; Ronen, 2003). This is because most children do not identify themselves as clients and, even if referred for treatment, do not recognize the need for it. The gamut of unique challenges inherent to child and adolescent treatment may cause social workers to experience permanent situational stress, which may lead them to distance themselves from or avoid treating young clients (Hazan, 1992; Linzer, 1999). The present study aimed to expand on the literature by examining the perceived extent of burnout experienced by Israeli social workers treating children and adolescents. THE CONCEPT OF BURNOUT Freudenberger (1974)initially defined the burnout phenomenon, as found among social workers, paraprofessionals, and volunteers who were in intensive contact with their clients, as the inability to cope with stressors at work. He described these workers' sense of frustration, helplessness, and hopelessness. Later, he defined the concept as a condition of fatigue, depleted physical and mental strength, and a sense of being worn out as a result of exaggerated goals and unrealistic expectations imposed by the workers themselves or by the values of society (Freudenberger, 1980). …