DIGEST-Volume-10-Issue-2-FULL ISSUE

15 TPC Digest Heather J. Fye, Ryan M. Cook, Eric R. Baltrinic, Andrea Baylin Examining Individual and Organizational Factors of School Counselor Burnout S chool counselors are called to meet the academic, career, and social-emotional needs of all students. In addition to providing counseling-related services in the school setting, school counselors often perform various non-counseling duties. Researchers have concluded that these significant and competing demands may place school counselors at risk for experiencing stress and burnout. In general, burnout is a workplace-specific construct characterized by feelings of exhaustion, cynicism, and lack of personal accomplishment. School counselor burnout is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct in which individual and organizational factors are correlates. Several researchers have studied various individual and organizational factors with school counselor burnout but not holistically within the context of multidimensional burnout. In the present study, we examined the relationship between individual and organizational factors, after controlling for the demographic variables of years of experience and school district, with multiple dimensions of school counselor burnout. Individual factors included perceived job stress, problem-focused coping, avoidant-emotional coping, and active-emotional coping. Organizational factors included perceived job satisfaction, role incongruity, role conflict, and role ambiguity. The multiple dimensions of burnout included Exhaustion, Incompetence, Negative Work Environment, Devaluing Clients, and Deterioration in Personal Life. School counselors ( N = 227) who were members of the American School Counselor Association completed the study. We used three-step hierarchical regression models to analyze the data. Our results suggest that individual and organizational factors uniquely relate to the multidimensions of school counselor burnout. Perceived stress was a statistically significant factor for Exhaustion and Deterioration In Personal Life. Avoidant-emotional coping was a statistically significant factor for Incompetence. Problem-focused coping was a statistically significant factor for Devaluing Clients. Perceived job satisfaction and role incongruity were statistically significant factors for Negative Work Environment. Role ambiguity was a statistically significant factor for Incompetence. Years of experience was not a statistically significant factor in the final hierarchical regression models but was negatively related with Incompetence and Devaluing Clients. It appears school counselors who are earlier in their careers may experience increased burnout in the areas of Incompetence and Devaluing Clients when compared to those working for significantly longer amounts of time. Implications for the school counseling profession to alleviate burnout include the importance of identifying the multidimensions of burnout and its correlates, addressing self-care and professional vitality goals, communicating defined school counselor roles, providing mentoring opportunities, and increasing advocacy skills. Heather J. Fye, PhD, NCC, LPC, is an assistant professor at the University of Alabama and a certified PK–12 school counselor. Ryan M. Cook, ACS, LPC, is an assistant professor at the University of Alabama. Eric R. Baltrinic, LPCC-S, is an assistant professor at the University of Alabama. Andrea Baylin, NCC, PEL, is a doctoral student at the University of Alabama. Correspondence may be addressed to Heather Fye, Box 870231, Graves Hall 315B, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, hjfye@ua.edu . | TPC Digest