Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Reba S. Glidewell

Abstract

Burnout among mental health professionals (MHPs) has been of interest to scholars and practitioners since the 1970s. For MHPs, burnout leads to less effective client treatment outcomes, increased turnover rate, and decreased overall wellbeing. Despite a significant body of literature on MHP burnout, there is little literature on how MHPs’ implicit motivations (IMs) may influence and contribute to their burnout. Understanding how IMs correlate with burnout may help with self-awareness and specific therapeutic treatments, both of which are important in preventing and alleviating burnout. Grounded in motive disposition theory, personality systems interaction theory, and theory on dimensions of burnout, this quantitative study contributes to the understanding of IMs as they relate to MHP burnout, thus addressing the lack of literature on this relationship. The study’s purpose was to examine whether there is a predictive relationship between an MHP’s IMs (nAchievement, nAffiliation/Intimacy, nPower, and nAutonomy) and the dimensions of burnout (Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Low Personal Accomplishment). MHPs were given the Operant Motive Test to examine the degree of their IMs and the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Humans Services Survey to examine their degree of burnout on each burnout dimension. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine whether a predictive relationship exists between any of the distinct IMs and the dimensions of burnout. The results may provide MHPs with a framework for self-awareness and specific approaches in the prevention and treatment of burnout. Potential implications for effecting social change include improvement of client treatment outcomes, reduced turnover rate among MHPs, and increased overall well-being of MHPs.

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