Intrapersonal and Organizational Factors Associated with Burnout among School Counselors.

Professional school counselors are asked to perform multiple duties as part of their daily work. Some of these duties match the descriptions set forth by national standards for school counseling programs, whereas others do not (Dahir, 2001). As a result, school counselors are constantly asked to make decisions about how to best perform their jobs. Numerous studies indicate that school counselors feel pulled in too many directions and are reporting high levels of stress (Moracco, Butcke, & McEwen, 1984; Pierson-Hubeny & Archambault, 1987; Sears & Navin, 1983; Stickel, 1991). This presents a concern because of the connections made between stress and well-being (Zarski, Bubenzer, & West, 1986). Stress has also been linked to burnout (Keegan, 1986; Watkins, 1983). Consequently, increased levels of stress and burnout can lead to ineffective delivery of services, exhaustion, physical complaints, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse (Huebner & Huberty, 1984; Reiner & Hartshorne, 1982). The concern is that as stress increases, not only do school counselors experience negative consequences, so too do those with whom they work. * Burnout Burnout is most frequently understood as a pattern of negative symptoms that relates directly to all areas of functioning (Savicki & Cooley, 1982). In conceptualizing burnout, Patrick (1979) made an early attempt to categorize its many symptoms into four different realms: physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral. Maslach and Jackson (1981) subsequently developed the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) to measure the dimensions of burnout. This scale assesses burnout across three dimensions: Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment. Emotional Exhaustion is characterized by symptoms of physical and emotional depletion. Depersonalization describes a lack of empathy and emotional distance from the clients with whom one works. Finally, Personal Accomplishment describes feelings of satisfaction and competence in one's job. Handy (1988) wrote, "the psychological literature on occupational stress usually defines stress as an individually based, affect-ladened experience caused by subjectively perceived stressors" (p. 353). Although Maslach (1993) has admitted similarities between the constructs of job stress and burnout, she argued that the three-component model of burnout is what distinguishes it from the construct of stress developed in the literature. With its emphasis on emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment, and the symptoms of depersonalization, she contended that the burnout construct contributes something unique to existing bodies of literature. Burnout among school counselors has been correlated with demographic variables (Hansen, 1967; Moracco et al., 1984; Parker, 1982; Sears & Navin, 1983; Stickel, 1991), individual personality attributes (Cummings & Nail, 1983; Wiggins, 1984), and organizational issues (Butcke, Moracco, & McEwen, 1984; Kendrick, Chandler, & Hatcher, 1994; Pierson-Hubeny & Archambault, 1987; Stickel, 1991; Thompson & Powers, 1983). However, no existing study of school counselors has attempted to examine all of these correlates simultaneously. By approaching burnout from this multidimensional perspective, a more comprehensive understanding of the elements associated with burnout can be developed. Thus the purpose of this study is to investigate the multiple variables and factors associated with burnout among school counselors by combining and analyzing demographic, intrapersonal, and organizational elements simultaneously. Each of these dimensions is reviewed in the following sections. Demographic Variables Associated With Burnout Although some studies of burnout have focused specifically on school counselors, the body of literature on burnout specific to this particular population is still quite scant. For that reason, additional studies in related areas of inquiry are included. …