The role of self-compassion and coping in the prevention or aggravation of burnout in Japanese professional caregivers for the elderly

Abstract

Self-compassion and coping play important roles in the prevention or aggravation of stress response. However, less is known about how self-compassion and coping are linked to burnout, which is the specific stress response in professional caregivers. In this study, we examined the relationships between self-compassion, adaptive and maladaptive coping styles, and burnout controlling for the influence of work stressors on burnout in Japanese professional caregivers for the elderly (124 care staff and 132 home-care workers). The results of structural equation modeling provided two different models linking self-compassion to burnout via coping styles in care staff and home-care workers. The root mean square error of approximation in each sample was .056 and .053, respectively, which suggests that the data largely fit the model. These findings suggest that incorporating self-compassion training into a traditional model of stress management is effective in preventing burnout in professional caregivers.