Are Resilient Occupational Therapists at Low Risk of Burnout? A Structural Equation Modeling Approach Combined with Latent Profile Analysis in a Greek Sample

Theodoros Kyriazos,Dimitrios Tsiamitros,Aikaterini Katsiana,Vaggelis Saprikis,Michalis Galanakis,Anastassios Stalikas

doi:10.4236/jss.2021.96012

Theodoros Kyriazos, Dimitrios Tsiamitros + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2021.96012

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Abstract

This study focused on the following research objectives: 1) to examine how resilience is related to personal accomplishment of Occupational Therapists; 2) to examine the relationship between personal accomplishment, depersonalization, and emotional exhaustion; 3) to profile Occupational Therapists based on resilience, personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization. The sample included 315 Greek Occupational Therapists. Data was collected on resilience (CD-RISC 10), personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization (MBI-HSS). A Structural Equation Model (SEM) was successfully specified with the two-step approach to examine how resilience is related to personal accomplishment and how personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization interact. The measurement and full SEM model showed a good fit and adequate model-based reliability. The SEM analysis suggested that increased resilience predicted a major increase in personal accomplishment with a standardized direct effect > 0.70, p p < 0.001. Then, Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) followed to describe the Occupational Therapists based on their score on resilience, personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization. During the LPA the optimal profile model was selected using an integrative model fit calculation approach based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and 4 profile groups of Occupational Therapists emerged. The scoring patterns of the 4 groups that emerged from PLA suggested that high-resilient Occupational Therapists are at lower burnout risk and low-resilient Occupational Therapists are at higher burnout risk.

Highlights

In the last twenty years, there was a dramatic increase in the prevalence of burnout in all Western societies (Glasberg, Eriksson, & Norberg, 2007)
This study focused on the following research objectives: 1) to examine how resilience is related to personal accomplishment of Occupational Therapists; 2) to examine the relationship between personal accomplishment, depersonalization, and emotional exhaustion; 3) to profile Occupational Therapists based on resilience, personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization
Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) followed to describe the Occupational Therapists based on their score on resilience, personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization

Summary

Introduction

In the last twenty years, there was a dramatic increase in the prevalence of burnout in all Western societies (Glasberg, Eriksson, & Norberg, 2007). Relevant Scholarship argues that occupational therapy is generally a challenging, highly stressful, and burnout-causing health profession (Gupta, Paterson, Lysaght, & Von Zweck, 2012). This makes occupational therapists (OTs)—like all health professionals—prone to burnout (Lloyd & King, 2001; Scanlan & Hazelton, 2019; Sturgess & Poulsen, 1983). Burnt out OTs are more likely to offer low-quality care or quit their job limiting institutional knowledge, raising training budgets, or discontinuing the therapeutic relationship (Scanlan & Still, 2013) They can spread burnout and discontentment to peers, contaminating the entire staff (Scanlan, & Hazelton, 2019). A unique feature of burnout in comparison to stress is that the social interactions between the OT and the recipient are the major source of stress (Schlenz et al, 1995), and this relevancy to the work environment is one of its major differences from depression (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996)

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