Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T17:52:32.714Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Burnout and its Effect on Neurocognitive Performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

Shane McInerney ,
Michael Rowan  and
Brian Lawlor
Shane McInerney*
Affiliation:
University Hospital Galway, Newcastle Road, Galway
Michael Rowan
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Trinity Centre, St James's Hospital, Dublin
Brian Lawlor
Affiliation:
Trinity College Dublin; Elderly at St Patrick's and St James's Hospitals
*
*Correspondence Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objectives: The hypothesis that burnout is predictive of performance deficits on a number of neuropsychological tests was examined among a group of psychiatric nurses. A possible relationship between burnout and state and trait anxiety levels was also investigated.

Methods: A sample of psychiatric nurses (n=45) completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Their performance on a number of neurocognitive tests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) was examined. The neurocognitive tests measured visual memory, verbal memory and attention.

Results: Multiple regression analyses were conducted between the burnout subscales and the results of the neuropsychological tests, and also between the burnout subscales and both state and trait anxiety levels. No overall significant relationship was found between neurocognitive performance and burnout. However, trait anxiety was significantly predictive of each of the burnout subscales of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and also of decreased personal accomplishment.

Conclusions: The levels of burnout were in the moderate range for all three subscales and so the population was suffering from burnout. The fact that the trait anxiety variable was predictive of all three of the burnout subscales suggests that predisposition towards anxiety may be a vulnerability factor among people who suffer from burnout.

Keywords

Burnoutcognitionmemoryneuropsychological testingpsychiatric nursing.
Type
Original Paper
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 29 , Issue 3 , 2012 , pp. 176 - 179
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Freudenberger, HJ. The staff burnout syndrome in alternative institutions. Psychother. Theory Res. Pract. 1975; 12:72–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Cox, T. The recognition and measurement of stress (conceptual and methodological issues). In: Wilson, JR & Corlett, N (eds.) Evaluation of Human Work (pp. 628–647) London: Taylor & Francis, 1990.Google Scholar
3.Maslach, C. The burnout syndrome and patient care. In: Garfield, C. A. (ed.) Stress and Survival: The Emotional Realities of Life-Threatening Illness (pp.111–120), 1979Google Scholar
4.Maslach, C, Jackson, SE. Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. 1982.Google Scholar
5.Leiter, MP. Burnout as a developmental process: Consideration of models. In: Schaufeli, WB, Maslach, C, Marek, T. (eds.) Professional Burnout: Recent Developments in Theory and Research (237–50) Taylor & Francis, 1993.Google Scholar
6.Maslach, C, Schaufeli, WB, Leiter, MP. Job Burnout. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2001; 52:397–422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Moore, KA, Cooper, CL. Stress in mental health professionals: A theoretical overview. International Journal of Social Psychiatry. 1996; 42(2), 82–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Dolan, N. The relationship between burnout and job satisfaction in nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 1986: 12, 3–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Fagin, L, Carson, J, Leary, J, Devilliers, N, Bartlett, H, O'Malley, P.Stress, coping and burnout in mental health nurses: Finding from three research studies. International Journal of Social Psychiatry. 1996; 42, 102–111.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Turnipseed, DL. Anxiety and burnout in the health care work environment. Psychological Reports. 1998; 82(2), 627–642.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Sandström, A, Nyström Rhodin, I, Lundberg, M, Olssona, T, Nyberg, L. Impaired cognitive performance in patients with chronic burnout syndrome. Biological Psychology, 2005; 69, 271–279.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Osterberg, K, Karlson, B, Hansen, AM. Cognitive performance in patients with burnout, in relation to diurnal salivary cortisol. Stress 2009; 12(1):70–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.University of Cambridge. CANTAB, The Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery.Google Scholar
14.Spielberger, CD. Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1979.Google Scholar
15.Lezak, MD, Howiesen, DB, Loring, DW. Neuropsychological assessment (4th edn). New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.Google Scholar
16.Huey, ST. Occupational Stress, Social Problem Solving, and Burnout among Mental Health Professionals in HIV/AIDS Care. A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Drexel University, 1997.Google Scholar
17.Guthrie, E, Tatton, T, Williams, E, Black, D, Bacliocotti, H. Sources of stress, psychological distress and burnout in psychiatrists. Psychiatric Bulletin, 1999; 23,207–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18.Oehler, JM, Davidson, MG, Starr, LE, Lee, DA. Burnout, job stress, anxiety, and perceived social support in neonatal nurses. Heart and Lung, 1991; 20, 5(1), 500–505.Google ScholarPubMed
19.Bakker, AB, Van Der Zee, KI, Lewig, KI, Dollard, MF. The Relationship Between the Big Five Personality Factors and Burnout: A Study Among Volunteer Counselors. The Journal of Social Psychology, 2002; 135(5), 1–19.Google Scholar