Professional Burnout Level and Mental Health of Teachers in Latvia

Abstract

The growing frequency of the negative manifestation of the burnout syndrome in professional activity calls for research into the relationship between professional burnout and mental health of teachers in Latvia. The purpose of the research is to study the relationship between low and high levels of professional burnout and the dimensions of mental health in Latvian teachers. The participants in the study were 100 teachers from general education schools in Latvia. The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES) was used to study the professional burnout syndrome in teachers’ professional activity and the Jagdish Srivastava Mental Health Inventory (MHI) was used to study the teachers’ mental health dimensions. At low burnout levels, a significant negative correlation of burnout dimensions Emotional Exhaustion and reduced Personal Accomplishment was found with mental health dimension Positive Self-evaluation. At high burnout levels, Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment show a significant negative correlation with mental health. No correlation was found between burnout and Positive Self-evaluation and Autonomy. Low and high levels of professional burnout in teachers indicate a correlation with mental health. Positive self-evaluation is an important indicator of the prevention of professional burnout syndrome, which promotes a decrease in depersonalization and increase in personal accomplishments in Latvian teachers.