Perlita Torres, PhD. September 17, 2016

Transcription

1 Perlita Torres, PhD September 17, 2016

2 Introduction Conceptual Framework Problems and Significance Research Questions and Hypotheses Literature Methodology Findings and Conclusions Practical Implications and Limitations Recommendations for Future Research

3 Stress: refers to work stress in the context of job demands as well as individual and organizational resources to meet these demands Differentiation of Self: refers to the individual s ability to manage emotional responses, to act thoughtfully under stress, and to remain logical and objective despite strong emotions Burnout: refers to exhaustion and reduced interest in tasks or activities characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment

4 The Bowen Family Systems Theory s (BFST) differentiation of self (DoS) is dependent upon the degree of separation between the parent and the child who is going through the process of maturation. Healthy differentiation results from: Identity not being molded in response to emotional tension and neediness of others Others not viewing the child through their own subjective experiences Other member s emotional responses to pressure not contaminating the child s sense of self Forming opinions, beliefs, and perspectives with proper deliberation and consistent with one another The child remaining a part of the family unit yet an individual on his or her own Poor differentiation results from: Unhealthy family relationships preventing the child from successfully achieving the independence to think, feel, and act The child replicating some form of family patterns when beginning to emancipate himself or herself from the home The child being unable to achieve full emotional separation from his or her family and may have the same pattern as an adult

5 Resilient Characteristics of Highly Differentiated Individuals Distinguish thinking from feeling Separate emotions from facts Less prone to experience anxiety Solid sense of self Goal directed Realistic expectations of self and others Unaffected by the evaluation/reactions of others Characteristics of Low Differentiated Individuals Dominated by feelings and base decisions on emotions Reactive to people s evaluations Actions dictated by other people s reactions Unrealistic expectations of oneself More easily affected by stress Coping strategies more easily weakened by stress Calm and logical in the midst of crisis

6 Burnout, the leading cause of turnover, can be effectively addressed by understanding its antecedents BFST s DoS is conceptualized as related to psychological well-being and symptoms The identification of the predictive role of DoS on burnout may: Be used for screening out workers who are prone to burnout Inform the development and implementation of burnout prevention and intervention through training that fosters resiliency Understanding the differences in the level of DoS, stress, and burnout between male and female as well as novice and veteran workers may also: Guide in developing programs of interventions tailored to the needs of the workers The study contributed to the theory by providing evidence of the predictive role of DoS on burnout and the workers ability to manage their job s demands The study provided preliminary findings that may be explored for further refinement of the BFST

7 Q1a. To what degree, if at all, does stress predict burnout in CPS workers, controlling for DoS? Q1b. To what degree, if at all, does DoS moderate the relationship between stress and burnout in CPS workers? Q2. To what degree, if at all, do levels of stress, DoS, and burnout differ between male and female CPS workers? Q3. To what degree, if at all, do levels of stress, DoS, and burnout differ between novice and veteran CPS workers?

8 The study tested whether: Stress predicts burnout. DoS significantly moderates the relationship between stress and burnout. There are differences between male and female, novice and veteran workers with respect to their levels of stress, DoS, and burnout.

9 Higher levels of DoS predict: Higher levels of vocational identity and fewer difficulties in career decision making Higher level of perceived pregnancy health, relationship satisfaction, and family coping Low risk for child maltreatment, greater ability to control emotions, greater capacity for warm connection and autonomy in relationships More rational and less enmeshment with the high-level or intense emotional environment Less co-worker or supervisor conflict Perception of low level of role overload and reduced levels of burnout Greater psychosocial and interpersonal well-being Less physical signs of depression and anxiety, higher social adjustment

10 Distinction between Stress and Burnout Stress Too much pressure that demands physical and psychological resources Heightened emotional state (with psychological components to it) that persists for extended period of time Stress is described as an imbalance in the cognitiveemotional-environmental processes caused by external factors Burnout Not enough, empty, or diminished interaction, compassion, and concern Prolonged stress can lead to symptoms of burnout Burnout results from increased demands that overburden workers and from limited resources that lead to withdrawal or disengagement

11 Interpersonal/Organizational Predictors Difficult relationships between employees and their employment Work family conflict Overburdened health systems, poor management, lack of resources, staffing issues Work overload, low salary, poor supervisor support Role conflict, job insecurity Lack of leadership and organizational commitment Difficult clients, workload, job status, work hours, and role ambiguity Imbalance between demands and resources, organizational goals and expectations, and misaligned goals and employees aspirations

12 Individual Variables Personality characteristics and work-related attitudes Marital status, family support, coping styles, self-esteem Emotional reactivity Inability to maintain emotional distance Low DoS Personality style (e.g., neuroticism, distressed, feeling type) Demographic variables such as age, sex

13 CPS retention rate of 50% of the workforce within a one-year period Stress predicts burnout, which in turn predicts turnover Antecedents a) Organizational factors b) Individual factors c) Interpersonal factors Effects of Burnout a) Poor quality of service delivery b) Poor organizational morale, low productivity c) Lowered quality of life and relationships d) Discontinuity of services and turnover e) Physical and psychological problems

14 Stress Perception of support Overidentification tendency Susceptibility to emotional contagion and emotional reactivity. Trait anxiety Attitudes and perceptions Educational degree Emotional commitment

15 Age and length of service were found negatively associated with personal accomplishment (Blau et al., 2103) Among CPS workers, younger professionals experience higher rates of burnout (Sprang, Craig, & Clark, 2011) Psychologists with more years of service in their current work settings reported lower burnout (Benedetto & Swadling, 2014) Increased years of service showed clergy or people in ministry to have higher levels of burnout and compassion fatigue (Jacobson, Rothschild, Mirza, & Shapiro, 2013) Male nurses have higher levels of depersonalization (Cañadas-de la Fuente et al., 2014) Women experience more emotional exhaustion and higher depersonalization (Gandi Wai, Karick, & Dagona, 2011) No sex differences in the experience of burnout (Maslach & Jackson, 1985)

16 Design Quantitative non-experimental correlational and comparative design Procedure Bulk was sent to all CPS workers through the AUPE Local 006 Chair and Chapters, announcement was posted in the AUPE website, and the Chair made robocalls for follow up Participants were directed to the survey link Workers who agreed to participate completed the survey Sample The a priori power analysis for independent samples t-tests required 210 participants, with the effect size of.05 at the.80 power level The post hoc power analysis based on the achieved sample size of 243 showed the power level of.99 at the medium effect size

17 Stress DoS Burnout Levy & Poertner s Skowron & Schmitt s Instrument CWWSI DSI-I Items 35 items 46 items 22 items 1 (never stressful) to 4 1 (not at all true to me) (almost always to 6 (very true of me) stressful) Sample Items Validity Reliability Inadequate training for the job Correlation between stress and burnout I wish I weren t so emotional Valid measure of intra/interpersonal resources of emotional regulation Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter s MBI-HSS 0 (never) to 6 (everyday) I feel emotionally drained from my work Correlated with behavioral ratings made by other people and certain job characteristics Original α EE =.90, DP =.79, PA =.71 Present α EE =.92, DP =.78, PA =.75

18 Descriptive Statistics: Profile sample demographics 1. Pearson Correlation: Examined the relationship between stress and DoS 2. Hierarchical Multiple Linear Regression: Examined the relationships among study variables 3. T-tests: Assessed the differences in level of stress, DoS, and burnout by sex and professional experience 4. Statistical assumptions met: normality, homogeneity of variances, homoscedasticity, no multicollinearity

19 Stress significantly positively predicted EE, DP, and negatively predicted PA DoS is significantly negatively correlated with stress DoS negatively predicted EE, DP, and positively predicted PA DoS did not significantly moderate the relationship between stress and burnout The level of stress, DoS, and burnout did not significantly differ between male and female CPS workers The level of stress, DoS, and burnout did not significantly differ between novice and veteran CPS workers Overall The results show the relationships among the three variables (Stress, DoS, and Burnout) and the prevalence of burnout in the population tested

20 Empirical evidence with respect to DoS as an antecedent to burnout: Extends the literature on DoS and its relationship to stress and burnout Supports the BFST s conceptualization that DoS provides indicators of the individuals ability to handle stress, manage life s challenges, and adapt to different situations Explains previous findings that DoS is related to job satisfaction, self-direction, and the ability to problem-solve and make decisions Offers explanation for previous findings that some workers are more at risk for burnout than others Supports previous findings of no gender differences with respect to level of DoS, stress, and burnout Supports previous findings of no differences between novice and veteran workers with respect to level of DoS, stress, and burnout Supports previous findings that burnout is prevalent in CPS workers

21 Burnout Domains n % Emotional Exhaustion High Average Low Depersonalization High Average Low Personal Accomplishment High Average Low

22 Identified Stressors n % 1. Insufficient time to complete work Insufficient staff to cover cases Lack of resources for families Responsibility for the lives of children and families Death or serious injury of a child Reorganization or agency changes Working with difficult families Being blamed for something that goes wrong Work intruding on family/home life

23 Identified Stressors n % 10. Being held accountable for things over which I have no control Stakeholders devaluing the work I do (courts, mental health, etc Case related documentation Constantly changing job responsibilities Interpersonal conflict (non-case related) office politics Fear of making mistakes Families getting treated unfairly

24 Identified Stressors n % 17. Testifying in court Making difficult decisions Lack of opportunity to talk to others about work Violent or threatening family members

25 Include DoS as an important construct to consider in seeking out workers who are at risk Tailor intervention and supervisory support to the workers level of DoS Use DoS to determine the workers ability to lead, self-direct, problem-solve, work with a team, handle sensitive cases, maintain autonomy despite group pressure, and approach situations in a less reactive manner Use the concept of DoS to inform the development and implementation of effective interventions for addressing and preventing burnout Based on DoS, an effective program of intervention includes fostering resilience Offer a fully informed, well-planned and implemented and properly monitored burnout intervention for workers of both sexes, for novice and veteran workers alike A combination of individual- and organization-focused intervention would be most beneficial since the individual works with others within the organization

26 Sample Modest-sized convenience sample Self-selected Selection bias Generalizability Non-randomized sample may not generalize findings Measures Self-report increases social desirability Stress variable only measures job stress Design Correlational, therefore no causal inferences can be made

27 Replicate the study and examine the explicit role of DoS by operationalizing stress as perceived stress Replicate the study using a larger sample with equal number of male and female workers, novice and veteran workers Examine what accounts for high PA despite high emotional exhaustion and high depersonalization Replicate the study using the separate DoS component scores instead of the aggregate score Using a more longitudinal study, examine whether the use of DSI-R as a screening tool is predictive of the workers ability to persevere and manage job demands

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