Analysis of Burnout Predictors in Nursing: Risk and Protective Psychological Factors

Abstract

Burnout has become a subject of interest in the field of healthcare, where nursing is one of the most vulnerable professions. The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship and involvement of sociodemographic and job variables, as well as the intervention of certain emotional intelligence, perceived social support, and general self-efficacy factors in the development of burnout among nursing professionals. The sample was made up of 1,307 participants with a mean age of 32.03 years (SD = 6.54). An ad hoc questionnaire, the Brief Burnout Questionnaire, the Brief Emotional Intelligence Inventory for Adults, the Brief Form of the Perceived Social Support Questionnaire, and the General Self-Efficacy Scale were used. Continuous work experience, attending to a larger number of patients, and male sex are the variables related to higher burnout scores. The logistic regression model provides data which back the involvement of certain sociodemographic (sex), work (employment situation and number of users attended to), perceived social support, and some elements of emotional intelligence (interpersonal, mood, and stress management) variables in burnout. The proposal of a model in which personal and employment variables are included is emphasized, which will have a repercussion on the improvement of a preventive intervention and, in turn, optimize the quality of healthcare services.