For citation:
Akimenko A. K. Dynamics of Reflective Personality Characteristics in the Structure of Professional Burnout. Izvestiya of Saratov University. Educational Acmeology. Developmental Psychology, 2017, vol. 6, iss. 4, pp. 367-373. DOI: 10.18500/2304-9790-2017-6-4-367-373
Dynamics of Reflective Personality Characteristics in the Structure of Professional Burnout
The article presents the available in the scientific literature approaches to the analysis of the phenomenon of professional burnout and descriptions of factors, symptoms and determinants. The results of a comparative study of the reflexive characteristics of the employees of the boarding home are presented, depending on the level of their emotional burnout (n = 55, 38–52 years, work experience from 4 to 22 years). The following questionnaires were used in the study: “Diagnosis of emotional burnout of an individual» by V. V. Boyko; «Diagnosis of professional burnout» by K. Maslach, S. Jackson and others; methodology aimed at revealing the level of empathy by V. V. Boyko and Toronto alexithymia scale of TAS by G. Taylor. The use of the tools made it possible to reveal the peculiarity of the reflexive features and emotional manifestations of specialists at each of the stages of their emotional burnout. The interrelations between emotional burnout and reflexive characteristics of the respondents’ personality were analyzed: between empathy and alexithymia. It is shown that at different stages of professional burnout, empathy and alexithymia can act as protective mechanisms of psyche, as well as factors that aggravate emotional exhaustion of specialists. We described specifics of manifestations of the empathy mechanisms depending on the length of service of the staff in institution. The tendency of the growth of alexithymia with increase of emotional exhaustion of respondents is recorded. It is shown that the ability to identify emotional experiences and their verbalization reduces the risk of professional burnout, increasing stress resistance of an individual. The data obtained make it possible to clarify the possible determinants of professional burnout of employees in the sphere of helping professions and can be used by specialists in the practice of consultative therapy.
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