Yvonne Gold

The factorial validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory in a sample of California elementary and junior high school classroom teachers

For a sample of 462 elementary and junior high school Southern California teachers, the responses scored separately for frequency and intensity to 22 items of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) were intercorrelated and subjected to a principal factors solution followed by varimax rotation. In each of the two rotated factor matrices empirical support was obtained for the presence of three a priori (hypothesized) dimensions of Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment—constructs around which three MBI subscales had been designed. It was concluded that the two scoring systems could be expected to yield comparable factor structures and hence equivalent constructs. A conclusion also was reached that two of the three factors in the MBI were invariant with two found for a group of Massachusetts teachers who participated in a parallel investigation.

The Dimensionality of a Modified Form of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for University Students in a Teacher-Training Program:

For a sample of 147 fifth-year students enrolled in a teacher training program at the elementary school level, both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses involving orthogonal and oblique solutions were carried out on a correlation matrix of scores on 22 items from a self-report inventory of teacher burnout that was adapted with permission from the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The modifications incorporated within the new instrument, which is referred to as the College Student Survey (CSS), constituted the substitution of words within several item statements that would be more suitable in a teaching context than were the statements in the MBI which were oriented toward workers in other forms of public service. As in the instance of other factor analytic studies with the MBI, the three hypothesized constructs of burnout described as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment were clearly defined in all factor solutions irrespective of whether the items were scored for frequency or intensity.

Academic self-concept correlates of potential burnout in a sample of first-semester elementary-school practice teachers: a concurrent validity study

For a sample of 109 graduate students beginning their first semester of practice teaching at the elementary-school level the concurrent validity of each of five subscales of the measure of academic self-concept entitled Dimensions of Self-Concept (DOSC)-Level of Aspiration, Anxiety, Academic Interest and Satisfaction, Leadership and Initiative, and Identification versus Alienation-was found relative to each of three criterion scales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) scored for both frequency and intensity of response: (a) Emotional Exhaustion, (b) Depersonalization, and (c) Personal Accomplishment. It was concluded that for the most part the subscales of the DOSC demonstrated promising concurrent validity relative to the criterion measures afforded by the MBI. Substantial evidence was present that those student teachers who exhibited scores on the DOSC indicative of a positive or facilitative academic self-concept tended to register scores on the MBI associated with minimal tendency toward burnout behaviors.

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

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.

The Factorial Validity of a Teacher Burnout Measure (Educators Survey) Administered to a Sample of Beginning Teachers in Elementary and Secondary Schools in California.

For the Educators Survey, an inventory designed to assess teacher burnout in each of three scales representing constructs of Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment, both exploratory (orthogonal and oblique) factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses of the correlation matrix of 22 items administered to a sample of 133 elementary and secondary school beginning teachers lent support to a three-factor structure. It was concluded that this multidimensional instrument provides a promising level of construct validity for assessing teacher burnout.

The Relationship of Scores on the Educators Survey, a Modified Version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, to Three Teaching-Related Variables for a Sample of 132 Beginning Teachers:

For a sample of 133 beginning teachers, the relationship of three teaching-related variables identified as (a) the extent to which the teacher perceived teacher-training courses prepared him or her for the first years of teaching, (b) the level of workload experienced during the first three years of teaching, and (c) if an individual were to begin his or her career again, would he or she select teaching as the first career choice to three measures of burnout (Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment). Correlation data were obtained and a series of multiple regression analyses were conducted in which the three teaching-related variables served as predictors. Findings indicated that, for a subsample of female beginning teachers, two of the three variables (perceived adequacy of training and choosing teaching as a career) served as moderately valid predictors of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization measures.