Social support as a buffer in the stress-burnout relationship

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Abstract
Since the burnout syndrome has a negative impact both on the individual affected and the institution in which he/she is employed, it is important to identify the factors which may alleviate the level of burnout. Social support is said to be one of such factors. Our study was undertaken to investigate the influence of social support in the workplace and general social support on relationships between global stress and stress related to role conflict, ambiguity, and overload and burnout components (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment). The subjects were 1,023 hospital nurses. The results indicate that burnout level correlates highly with organizational and global stress. The role of social support in determining the level of particular burnout components varied according to the type and scope of support. No reliable correlation was found between emotional exhaustion and social support of any type. The level of depersonalization was related only to general support whereas a personal accomplishment factor was related to both types of support. The study did not reveal a buffering effect of both types of social support on the relationships between stress and components of burnout.