The relationship among stress, burnout, and locus of control of school psychologists

Shana J Reece, Tennessee State University

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine how stress, burnout, and locus of control are related for school psychologists providing direct services in the Metropolitan Nashville Public School System. This knowledge is essential in providing the needed experience and outlook of working as a school psychologist. The current study provided school psychologists with demographic questionnaires regarding factors such as psychologist to student ratio, number of schools served, location of school, administration support, and role conflict. Also participants were asked to rate which of their direct service roles; consultation, assessment, and intervention portray the most stress and burnout. Participants completed the School Psychologists and Stress Inventory (Wise, 1985), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1986), and the Rotter Locus of Control Scale (Rotter, 1966). The data from 55 surveys was completed by school psychologists and analyzed using SPSS 17.0. Descriptive statistics, MANCOVAs, MANOVA, and a Pearson r correlation were used to determine significance when data is cross-referenced with demographic data. There were no significant relationships between school psychologists’ stress and burnout levels and number of schools served, location of school, number of special education students served, and locus of control. Based on the results, the researcher suggests that school districts provide a mandatory training addressing the effects of stress and burnout, as well as time and stress management skills. Suggestions for future research are also given.

Subject Area

Behavioral psychology|School counseling|Psychology|Occupational psychology

Recommended Citation

Shana J Reece, "The relationship among stress, burnout, and locus of control of school psychologists" (2010). ETD Collection for Tennessee State University. Paper AAI3419154.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3419154

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