‘Burnout’ Amongst Direct Care Workers in Services for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: A Systematic Review of Research Findings and Initial Normative Data

Abstract

Background Burnout has been highlighted as a significant problem for workers in the intellectual disabilities field. A growing number of studies have investigated the levels of burnout and its correlates amongst this population, although they have often reported somewhat contradictory findings. Materials and methods The present paper sought to systematically review the literature describing the levels and correlates of burnout amongst direct care workers of adults with intellectual disabilities. Results Meta‐analytic comparisons suggested that the levels of burnout are somewhat lowered in this population compared with normative samples and that there appeared to be a trend of burnout rates decreasing steadily over the past 20 years. Discussion Burnout appears to represent a useful construct for measuring the distress of workers supporting adults with intellectual disabilities. Gaps and inconsistencies were highlighted in the research literature and future research directions discussed.

The relationship between challenging behaviour, burnout and cognitive variables in staff working with people who have intellectual disabilities

“…The average EE score reported in this study is within the average range for mental health workers as reported by shown in Table 3, although the DP score was slightly lower, and the PA score higher. A review of burnout rates by Skirrow and Hatton (2007) suggests that the rates of burnout are decreasing. Comparing the scores for the present study with that of the most recent study in their review (Mitchell & Hastings, 2001), the EE score in the present study (19.86) is slightly higher than that found by Mitchell and Hastings (16.54).…”

“…Finally he discusses the clinical implications of his findings in that staff training and support may increase self-efficacy and improve staff's ability to cope which in turn may protect staff from experiencing negative emotions and consequently preserve their well-being. Skirrow and Hatton (2007) conducted a review of burnout investigating sources and levels of burnout over time in intellectual disability staff and specifically examined only studies using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Human Services version) and clients of the move to community care. They also cite various stressors for staff including long hours, work-home conflict, the use of behavioural interventions, wishful-thinking as a coping strategy, and role ambiguity and also touched upon challenging behaviour.…”

Resilience and professional quality of life in staff working with people with intellectual disabilities and offending behavior in community based and institutional settings

“…21 Staff in services for adults with intellectual disabilities seem to be at no higher risk of burnout compared to staff in other caring services according to a systematic review. 15 However, those staff most vulnerable to developing burnout tend to be the workers most valued by the services and burnout often indicates poor organizational support. 15 Resilience (hardiness) is a personality trait which may moderate the relationship between work demands and work related quality of life.…”

“…15 However, those staff most vulnerable to developing burnout tend to be the workers most valued by the services and burnout often indicates poor organizational support. 15 Resilience (hardiness) is a personality trait which may moderate the relationship between work demands and work related quality of life. 22 It has been described as a set of personality characteristics that function as resources to draw upon when encountering stressful demands.…”

“…14 The stressors typically reported by intellectual disability support staff include challenging behavior, 15 interpersonal issues with colleagues and organizational concerns (e.g. inadequate staffing).…”