Psychological Burnout among Professionals Working with!Children with Motor Disabilities

Abstract

Background. Psychological burnout is a state of psychological and physical fatigue that shows the e!ect of work stress on the individual and negatively a!ects his/her attitudes towards work. "e current study was motivated by the assumption that people who work directly with students with special needs are at the forefront of professions that can create feelings of frustration, and thus may be vulnerable to psychological burnout. Objective. To identify the level of psychological burnout among professionals working with children with motor disabilities, and how these levels di!er according to gender, workplace, years of experience, and the number of children the employees treat. Design. "e sample comprised 195 sta! members at the Al-Hussein Society for the Rehabilitation of the Physically Challenged and the Cerebral Palsy Foundation in Amman, Jordan. "e researchers used the Maslach Burnout Inventory, which consists of three dimensions: emotional# exhaustion, depersonalization, and the lack of a sense of personal accomplishment. Results. We found a low level of psychological burnout among those who work with children with motor disabilities. "e level of psychological burnout was low for two dimensions: lack of a sense of personal accomplishment and depersonalization, whereas it was average for emotional exhaustion. "e results showed statistically signi$cant di!erences in the degrees of psychological burnout in its three dimensions according to the employee’s workplace, with higher levels at the Cerebral Palsy Foundation. However, no statistically signi$cant di!erences were found among the participants due to gender, years of experience, or the number of children they treat. Conclusion. "e low levels of psychological burnout among professionals who work with children with motor disabilities might be due to the psychological and professional support they receive from their institutions.