Prevalence and predictors of burnout syndrome among public elementary school teachers

Abstract

Burnout is a psychosocial phenomenon, expression of several crises and disorientation in society, which has been subjecting the many labor sectors to too much tension over the years. The teaching profession is exposed, in the current work context, to a large amount of psychosocial stressors that, if persistent, may lead to Burnout. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to identify the prevalence and the predictors of the Burnout Syndrome (BS) in a random sample of 679 Brazilian teachers from 37 public elementary schools. The instruments were the Spanish Burnout Inventory; the Battery of Psychosocial Risk Assessment; and a questionnaire to assess sociodemographic and occupational variables. There was 7.5% prevalence of Profile 1 SB, and 18.3% of Profile 2 SB. Results point as predictors of Burnout dimensions the variables autonomy, conflict role, ambiguity role, overload, social support, and interpersonal conflicts. Results point predictor models of burnout dimensions composed of psychosocial risks derived from the type of the activity, and of interpersonal risks, with highlight to the variables social support and overload, which are present in all of the dimensions. Suggestions for further studies and implications on the practice are approached.