RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: We investigated the impact of verbal and physical client aggression on risk of developing high hair cortisol concentration (HCC) as an indicator of chronic stress exposure and burnout in a Swiss population of professional caregivers working in youth residential care. METHOD: Participants (nâ¯=â¯121; 62.0% women) reported on client aggression and burnout symptoms and provided hair samples at four annual sampling points. HCC was determined in the first 1.5â¯cm hair segment. Sociodemographic variables, private stressors, burnout symptoms, and HCC were compared between participants reporting either 'no aggression', 'verbal' aggression, or 'verbalâ¯+â¯physical' aggression. Cox proportional hazards regressions were calculated to compute hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between client aggression and risk of high HCC or burnout over the course of three years. RESULTS: Professional caregivers reporting 'verbalâ¯+â¯physical' aggression had higher HCC, more cognitive burnout symptoms, and greater burden in interpersonal domains. Both 'verbal' and 'verbalâ¯+â¯physical' aggression were positively associated with burnout risk (verbal: HRâ¯=â¯1.83; 95% CIâ¯=â¯1.27-2.65; verbalâ¯+â¯physical: HRâ¯=â¯2.44, 95% CIâ¯=â¯1.56-3.84). 'Verbalâ¯+â¯physical' aggression was positively associated with risk of high HCC (HRâ¯=â¯1.58; 95% CIâ¯=â¯1.07-2.36). CONCLUSIONS: This longitudinal analysis suggested that psychophysiological stress response is primarily associated with combined verbal and physical aggression. The emotional wearing-down associated with verbal aggression should however not be disregarded. Our exploratory findings could have implications for youth welfare policy, clinical child psychiatry, and future research.
Asunto(s)
Agotamiento Profesional/psicología , Cuidadores/psicología , Estrés Psicológico/metabolismo , Adulto , Agresión/psicología , Actitud del Personal de Salud , Agotamiento Psicológico , Femenino , Cabello/química , Humanos , Hidrocortisona/análisis , Estudios Longitudinales , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Estrés Laboral , Abuso Físico/psicología , Estrés Psicológico/psicología , Conducta Verbal , Violencia Laboral/psicologíaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Aggression comprises a heterogeneous set of behavioral patterns that aim to harm and hurt others. Empathy represents a potential mechanism that inhibits aggressive conduct and enhances prosocial behavior. Nevertheless, research results on the relationship between empathy and aggression are mixed. Subtypes of aggressive behavior, such as reactive and proactive aggression might be differently related to empathy. The aim of the present study was to investigate the interrelations of cognitive and affective empathy with reactive and proactive aggression. METHODS: We recruited a sample of 177 (33% female, M age 15.6) adolescents from socio-educational and juvenile justice institutions and a community sample of 77 (36% female, M age 13.1) adolescents from secondary schools. Using bivariate correlation analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis, we firstly investigated associations between cognitive and affective empathy and reactive and proactive aggression. Subsequently, we performed cluster analysis to identify clusters of adolescents with meaningful profiles of aggressive behavior and compared derived clusters on measures of empathy. We applied the Basic Empathy Scale and the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire. RESULTS: Bivariate analysis and hierarchical regression analysis showed that cognitive and affective empathy were negatively associated with proactive aggression, but not with reactive aggression. Cluster-analysis revealed three clusters of adolescents with distinct aggression profiles: a cluster with elevated scores on reactive and proactive aggression, a clusters with high scores on reactive aggression only, and a low aggression cluster. Cluster comparisons revealed that the reactive-proactive aggression cluster showed significantly lower scores on cognitive and affective empathy than both other clusters. Results further indicated that within the reactive-proactive aggression cluster, girls did not differ significantly from boys in empathy. CONCLUSIONS: The present study extends previously published findings, and possibly explains conflicting results in prior research. Our results indicated that cognitive and affective empathy are reduced in adolescents with high levels of reactive and proactive aggression. Our study may contribute to the development of tailored clinical interventions for different aggression clusters.
RESUMEN
Working in residential care is associated with high demands and high stress. As a result, employees may develop symptoms of burnout. These symptoms lead to absence from work and have a negative effect on the continuity and quality of the residential care. Until now, little is known about burnout risks in child welfare workers, although children and adolescents are especially dependent on continuous relationships and healthy caregivers. A better understanding of the relationship between burnout symptoms and work satisfaction may help to identify starting points for prevention and intervention. The present study assessed symptoms of burnout in a sample of 319 social education workers in residential care in Switzerland using the burnout-screening-scales (BOSS). Work satisfaction was assessed with a newly developed questionnaire based on concepts of trauma-sensitive care. The questionnaire was tested for reliability and factorial validity in the present study. In order to estimate the relationship between burnout symptoms and work satisfaction, correlations and relative risks were calculated. Almost one fifth (18 %) of the sample showed a risk of burnout. The principal component analysis of the questionnaire on work satisfaction revealed four factors: support by superiors, participation and transparency; communication and support within the team; gratification in the work; and institutional structures and resources. All four factors as well as the total score showed significant correlations with burnout symptoms. Among employees with a comparably lower work satisfaction, the risk of burnout was 5.4 times higher than among employees with a comparably higher work satisfaction. It is discussed how work satisfaction could be promoted and how, as a result, the quality and continuity of care for the children and adolescents could be improved.