Association between burnout syndrome, lifestyle, anxiety, and perfectionism among elementary school teachers

Abstract

This cross-sectional study analyzed the association between perfectionism, anxiety, lifestyle and burnout of 245 Brazilian teachers. The instruments were Hamilton Anxiety Scale, Individual Lifestyle Profile, Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, and Questionnaire for the Evaluation of Burnout Syndrome at Work. Data analysis was conducted through Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Spearman correlation and Path Analysis (p<0.05). The results showed self-oriented perfectionism and the social relationship showed association with illusion for work. Mental exhaustion was associated with stress control, social relationship, physical activity and anxiety, while indolence demonstrated association with social relationship, other-oriented and socially-prescribed perfectionism, and anxiety. Lifestyle (stress control, physical activity) and socially-prescribed perfectionism were associated with guilt. It was concluded that changes in teachers' lifestyles and perfectionism can be an intervening factor to reduce symptoms of burnout.