The prevalence of occupational burnout and its individual and situational predictors among addiction therapists

• Published in: Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford) 2024-01, Vol.59 (1)
• Main Authors: Klingemann, Justyna, Mokros, Łukasz, Sienkiewicz-Jarosz, Halina, Świtaj, Piotr
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety - epidemiology; Anxiety Disorders; Burnout, Professional - epidemiology; Burnout, Professional - psychology; Burnout, Psychological - psychology; Humans; Prevalence; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 0735-0414; 1464-3502
• DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agad074

Abstract This study assesses the prevalence and individual and organizational predictors of occupational burnout among addiction therapists. A total of 452 addiction therapists from a representative sample of 184 Polish alcohol treatment facilities (outpatient and inpatient) participated in the study (facility response rate = 42%). The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory was used to measure occupational burnout, and 15 subscales of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II were administered to assess psychosocial work conditions. In addition, the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the abbreviated six-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale measured other important dimensions of addiction therapists' psychosocial functioning. Logistic regression was used for the analysis of the data. Occupational burnout was noticeably prevalent in the study group: 62% of respondents experienced exhaustion and 50% experienced disengagement from work, both to at least a moderate degree. Situational (organizational) variables were the most important predictors, explaining much more of the variance in both dimensions of burnout than the individual factors, of which only depression was significantly related to higher levels of exhaustion. Coronavirus anxiety played a marginal role in explaining the severity of burnout. The current study is one of the first attempts to assess the level of occupational burnout among addiction therapists and to comprehensively investigate the factors contributing to it. The findings provide useful information for the development of interventions aimed at preventing or reducing burnout in this professional group. Short Summary: Occupational burnout is clearly widespread among addiction therapists: 62% of respondents experienced exhaustion and 50% disengagement from work, both to at least a moderate degree. Organizational variables were the most important predictors, explaining much a larger proportion of the variance in both dimensions of burnout than the individual factors.