The Relationship of Six Personal and Life History Variables to Standing on Three Dimensions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory in a Sample of Elementary and Junior High School Teachers

Abstract

For a sample of 462 elementary and junior high school classroom teachers, evidence was sought regarding the degree of relationship between each of six personal and life history variables—sex, age, marital status, total number of years at the same school, grade level taught, and perceived degree of difficulty in control of students—to each of the three subscales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory—Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment that were scored individually on the highly correlated Frequency and Intensity dimensions. High scores on the first two subscales and low scores on the third subscale have been associated with the manifestation of the construct of burnout. In general, the personal and life history variables afforded low but often statistically significant relationships with one or more of the three constructs of burnout.