THE RELATIONHSHIP AMONG STRESS, BURNOUT, AND LOCUS OF CONTROL

OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS

A Dissertation

Submitted to the Graduate School

of

Tennessee State University

in

Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of

Doctor of Psychology

Graduate Research Series No. __________

Shana J. Reece

August 2010

UMI Number: 3419154

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THE RELATIONHSHIP AMONG STRESS, BURNOUT, AND LOCUS OF CONTROL

OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS

A Dissertation

Submitted to the Graduate School

of

Tennessee State University

in

Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of

Doctor of Psychology

Shana J. Reece

August 2010

To the Graduate School:

We are submitting a dissertation by Shana Reece entitled “The Relationship Among Stress,

Burnout, and Locus of Control of School Psychologists.” We recommend that it be accepted

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy in School

Psychology.

Steve Trotter___________________

Chairman

Misti Counts___________________

Committee Member

Joan Popkin______ ___________

Committee Member

Erik Schmeller_________________

Committee Member

Accepted for the Graduate School:

Alex Sekwart_______________________

Dean of the Graduate School

DEDICATION

This dissertation is dedicated to my grandfather, the late Colonel James D. Wattenbarger,

who is greatly missed and loved. His words of encouragement are never far from my

mind and have often kept me going on this project. Though you are not here, I know that

you are very proud.

ACKLOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my mother, Norma Reece, sister, Jana Reece, and brother, T.J.

Reece for their support and encouragement. Also, my utmost gratitude to all of my family

members for their positive support and a pat on the back when I needed it.

ABSTRACT

SHANA JEAN REECE. The Relationship Among Stress, Burnout, and Locus of Control

of School Psychologists (Under the direction of Dr. STEVE TROTTER).

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.

viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………...1

Statement of the Problem………………………………………….5

Significance of Study……………………………………………...6

Definition of Terms………………………………………………..6

Research Questions………………………………………………..7

II. LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………9

Practitioner to Student Ratio……………………………………..11

Number of Schools………………………………………………13

Location of School……………………………………………….14

Role Conflict……………………………………………………..15

Administration Support…………………………………………..16

Direct Services…………………………………………………...17

III. METHODS………………………………………………………………20

Participants……………………………………………………….20

Instrumentation………………………………………..…………20

Procedure……………………………………………...…………22

Hypotheses……………………………………………………….23

Statistical Analysis……………………………………………….23

IV. RESULTS………………………………………………………………24

Demographic Data……………………………………………….24

Survey Data……..……………………………………………….24

Analysis of Hypotheses…..…...…………………………………26

ix

V. DISCUSSION………………………………………………………….31

Implications and Findings..…....………………………..…….. 32

Limitations of the Study…......……..……...…….......………...39

Recommendations…………..…...………....……..………........41

Suggestions for Future Research................……..….…………..41

REFERENCES……………………………………………………..……43

APPENDIXES…………………………………………………..………54

A. Informed Consent…………………………………………....55

B. Demographic Questionnaire……..…………....……………..57

C. School Psychologists and Stress Inventory

(SPSI)……...………………………………………………...59

D. Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)………………………….61

E. Rotter Locus of Control Scale……………………………….63

F. Institutional Review Board Letter of Acceptance…………...66

x

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE PAGE

1. Demographic Data……………………………………………………….25

2. MANCOVA concerning the number of schools served and stress and

burnout…………………………………………………………………...28

3. MANOVA concerning the location of school served and stress and

burnout…………………………………………………………………...29

4. MANCOVA concerning the number of students served and stress and

burnout…………………………………………………………………...30

5. Pearson’s r correlation concerning external locus of control and stress and

burnout…………………………………………………………………...30

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Stress and tension are part of the professional lives of school psychologists. At

times, stress may be tolerable and stimulating, but often school psychologists experience

excessive demands on their mental and physical resources as they deal with students,

parents, and colleagues. Even the best organized school psychologist is often bombarded

with daily role conflicts, interpersonal conflicts, unscheduled meetings, frequent

interruptions, and heavy workload. Research suggests that symptoms of burnout are often

reported frequently among school psychologists, particularly feelings of emotional

exhaustion (Huebner, 1993). However, little research has been conducted on the stress

experienced by school psychologists or the relationship between burnout and stress.

Within the past several years, school psychologists have been required to expand their

services and the results of these additional demands and responsibilities have provided

more stressful conditions for special services personnel. Due to the historical

implementation of IDEA (The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and Public

Law 94-192 (1974) a significant degree of stress in schools has been formed among

school psychologists. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has created

additional responsibilities over the past 30 years, including team meetings, due process

2

paperwork, individualized education program, and intensive involvement and

accountability with parents (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement 2004).

The combination of working with exceptional children and implementing the mandate of

IDEA has appeared to shape stressful conditions which many special services personnel

have been in previous years unable to cope (Shaw, Bensky & Dixon, 1981). In addition,

special education departments must provide services to infants and toddlers under Part H

of Public Law 99-457 (1978) (Mowder, Widerstrom & Sandall, 1989). Lastly, not only

do special education departments provide services to those with educational disabilities

but they also must provide services to “handicapped persons” under section 504 of the

Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Wise (1985) reported that school psychologists often experience a wide variety of

occupational stressors. Such stressors include an overabundance of work, insufficient

pleasure at work, inadequate structure, poor relationships with supervisor personnel, and

the feeling of lacking control over one’s situation. Wise (1985) also reported that several

demographic variables including gender, age, type of working community, number of

districts, number of year’s experience, and salary were significantly related to the school

psychologists’ ratings of stressful events. In a similar study, Reiner & Hartshorne (1982)

contend that the lack of time and excessive caseloads, as well as lack of support and

appreciation are the predominant sources of distress amongst school psychologists.

School psychologists have long reported job related stressors. Clair, Kerfoot, &

Klaus Meier (1972) identified several areas of dissatisfaction among school

psychologists. Areas identified were an unavailability of adequate testing and

3

interviewing facilities. In addition was a lack of funding to attend conventions, lack of in-

service training, lack of opportunity for placement, advancement, and isolation from

fellow school psychologists. Huebner & Mills (1994) reported that daily “hassles” were

more stressful for practicing school psychologists than “high profile” incidents such as

suicides. Last & Silverman (1989) conveyed that the experience with burnout likely

results in school psychologists “drifting away” from the profession and into other

professions involving less stress.

School psychologists are redefining their roles, a fact which can lead to higher

occupational stressors and an increase in potential burnout (DeAngelis, 2002). For school

psychologists who provide services to an eclectic array of clients, burnout could be a

significant problem. According to Levinson, Fetchkan, & Hohenshil (1988) school

psychologists are relied upon to make important and critical decisions about children

which may affect those children for the rest of their lives. Although school psychologists

usually function as a member of an interdisciplinary decision making team, Giliam &

Coleman (1981) have shown that school psychologists, by virtue of their “expert power”

and diagnostic expertise, are frequently regarded as the most influential members of this

team.

Locus of control may help to explain much about one’s perceived stress in the

workplace. According to Hurrell & Murphy (1991) locus of control is one of the most

widely studied variables in psychology. However, very few studies have been conducted

in the work setting of school psychologists. Rotter (1990) formulated the locus of control

construct to explain the failure of people to respond in a predictable manner to

4

reinforcement. According to Rotter (1966), if an individual perceives reinforcement to be

contingent upon his/her own actions then positive or negative reinforcement will

strengthen or weaken the behavior. If the individual believes that reinforcement is

externally controlled by chance, fate, or powerful others, then reinforcement will not

strengthen or weaken the behavior. It is a personality orientation characterized either by

the belief that one can control an event by one’s own efforts (internal locus of control) or

that the future is determined by forces outside one’s control (external locus of control)

(Strickland, 2006).

An external locus of control can cause school psychologists to feel like everything

that is happening in their work environment is out of their control. Yet school

psychologists with internal locus of control feel that they can be the change agents in

their lives and have control over what is going on in their environment (Lunenburg &

Cavadid, 1992). If school psychologists are stressed they are likely to have less job

satisfaction. Whether one believes that one has control over their world has a significant

impact on how the stress in their life affects them. The school psychologist with an

external locus of control may be affected more negatively by stress in the workplace

because the psychologist perceives the stress as something he or she cannot make stop or

go away (Hoyos & Kallus, n.d.). School psychologists who feel they are more burned out

have been found to ascribe an external locus of control. They feel like they have fewer

coping strategies or perceived past reinforcement strategies outside their control

(Lunenburg & Cadavid, 1992). Moreover, externals have been shown to report more

burnout (Glogow, 1986; McIntyre, 1984), job satisfaction (Spector, 1982), stress (Haplin,

5

Harris, & Haplin, 1985; Lester, 1982), alienation (Korman, Wittig-Berman, & Lang,

1981), and lower self- esteem (Lester, 1986).

On the other hand, there are school psychologists who believe they control what

happens in their lives, those with internal locus of control, report lower anxiety and

higher self-esteem (Schultz & Shultz, 2001). These school psychologists reported being

less negatively impacted by stress in the workplace than school psychologists with an

external locus of control.

Statement of the Problem

The discussion above has identified a number of stressful conditions which exist

within the work environment of those involved in the helping profession. The

acknowledgement of stressful factors that contribute to burnout among school

psychologists is important in the progress to decrease those factors and improve the

career satisfaction of school psychologists. With the importance of school psychologists

role noted, job setting factors influence the quality of services provided by school

psychologists. School psychologists need to be aware of, and use, all appropriate

resources to decrease burnout rates. Therefore, practitioner to student ratio, number of

schools served, location of school, role conflict, administration support, and the stress of

providing the main services of direct services (consultation, assessment, and intervention)

may impede the progression of decreasing burnout factors among school psychologists in

the job setting. School psychologists’ perceptions of control or lack of thereof, over

employment roles also pose as a deciding factor of stress and burnout levels.

6

Significance of Study

This study sought to determine how stress, burnout, and locus of control are

related for school psychologists providing direct services in the Metropolitan Nashville

Public School System (MNPS). This knowledge is essential in providing the needed

experience and outlook of working as a school psychologist. Factors such as psychologist

to student ratio, number of schools served, location of school, administration support, and

role conflict can help to determine the causes and rate of stress and burnout. Also the

rating of school psychologists’ services including consultation, assessment, and

intervention may play a role in what area school psychologists report to be the most

stressful. The results of this study may add to further research supporting the resilience of

school psychologists’ to burnout.

Definitions of Terms

School Psychologist. A field that applies principles of clinical psychology and

educational psychology to the diagnosis and treatment of children's and adolescents'

behavioral and learning problems (www.nasponline.org). They collaborate with

educators, parents, and other professionals to create safe, healthy, and supportive learning

environments for all students that strengthen connections between home and school

(www.naspoline.org).

Stress. An adaptive response, mediated by individual characteristics and/or

physiological processes that are a consequence of any external action, situation, or event

that places special physical and/or psychological demands upon a person (Ivancevich &

Matteson, 1980).

7

Burnout. A state of physical and emotional depletion resulting from working

conditions (Freudenberger, 1975). It has been further defined as a syndrome of emotional

exhaustion, depersonalization, and a reduced sense of personal accomplishment (Maslach

& Jackson, 1986).

Locus of Control. A concept initially used to distinguish between two types of

situations those in which outcomes are determined by skill in contrast to settings where

chance is the main determinant of success and failure (Rotter, 1966).

External Locus of Control. Individual believes that his/her behavior is guided by

fate, luck, or other external circumstances (Rotter, 1990).

Internal Locus of Control. Individual believes that his/her behavior is guided by

his/her personal decisions and efforts (Rotter, 1990).

Research Questions

1. What relationship exists between demographic variables (student ratio, number

of schools served, and location of school) and stress of school psychologists?

2. What relationship exists between demographic variables (student ratio, number

of schools served, and location of school) and burnout of school psychologists?

3. What relationship exists between demographic variables (student ratio, number

of schools served, and location of school) and locus of control of school

psychologists?

4. What is the relationship between locus of control as measured by the Rotter

Locus of Control Scale, and stress as measured by the School Psychologists and

Stress Inventory?

8

5. What is the relationship between locus of control as measured by the Rotter

Locus of Control Scale, and burnout as measured by the Maslach Burnout

Inventory?

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

It is a widely held belief in the research that the cumulative effect of work related

stress in the helping profession can result in a condition known as burnout (Belcastro &

Hays, 1984). Burnout has become a growing concern in a variety of human service

professions (Maslach & Jackson, 1986). The term “burnout” was first introduced by

Freudenberger (1975) to refer to the emotional and physical wearing away experienced

by some professionals who work in health and care agencies (Huebner, 1993). Since then,

research on burnout among human professionals has flourished. More than 2,500 articles

were published during 1975-1989 alone (Kleiber & Enzmann, 1990). Farber (1991)

concludes that expressions of burnout now reflects today’s work environment which

includes: (a) pressure of meeting the demands of others, (b) intense competition, (c) a

drive to make money, and (d) a sense of being deprived of something that is deserved.

Maslach (1982) highlights three domains in which stressful events can arise in the work

setting: organizational, intrapersonal, and interpersonal. In the area of school psychology,

studies related to burnout have not been as frequently conducted as in the other helping

professions (e.g., nursing, social work, and mental health workers) (Golembiewski,

Munzenrider, & Stevenson, 1985; Hoff & Buchholz, 1996; Huebner, 1992, 1993a,

1993b; Jackson, Schwab, & Shuler, 1986; Jenkins & Maslach, 1994; Leiter & Meechan,

1986; Maslach, 1982; Maslach & Leiter, 1996, Niebrugge, 1994; Reiner & Hartshorne,

10

1982). For school psychologists, organizational stressors include a range of issues such as

role ambiguity, role conflict, and role overload (Brown, 1979; Huberty & Huebner, 1988;

Hughes, 1979; Last & Silberman, 1989; Wright & Thomas, 1982). Other organizational

stressors can include external forces, such as federal and state regulations, legislations,

and litigation (Lupiani, 1978) and pressures from colleagues such as teachers and

administration (Huberty &Huebner, 1988). Interpersonal stressors include problems with

supervisors or other colleagues (Hays & Clair, 1978; Lesiak & Lounsbury, 1977).

There has been an abundance of burnout among teachers and other helping

professionals; research related to burnout among school psychologists has not generated

much attention (Hoff & Buchholz, 1996). Hubeny-Pierson & Archibald uncovered only

14 studies examining burnout prior to 1987. Their investigation examined the

relationships among burnout for school psychologists in the Connecticut public school

systems. Results indicated that school psychologists, when compared to four other

teacher groups (i.e., classroom teachers, school social workers, guidance counselors, and

reading specialists) reported the second lowest levels of burnout along the

Depersonalization dimension and mid-range perceptions of burnout along the Emotional

Exhaustion and Personal Accomplishment dimensions. School psychologists reported the

second highest level of Role Conflict and the highest level of Role Ambiguity. Role

Conflict was a major factor in predicting Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization

among school psychologists. A study conducted by Huberty & Huebner (1988) found a

negative correlation between age and burnout in a national sample of school

psychologists. The results concluded that as school psychologist grew older they

11

developed a variety of behavioral and attitudinal patterns that reduced the likelihood of

burnout.

School psychology is one of the several human service professions faced with

challenges and demands that can serve as antecedents to burnout. Huebner (1992)

examined the extent of burnout among a national sample of school psychologists and

found approximately thirty percent displayed high levels of burnout. The study also

reported that burnout was related to school psychologists wanting to leave the profession

all together. Those who leave the school psychology profession for another career or to

return to school have been described as “the walking wounded of the burnout syndrome”

(Reiner & Hartshorne, 1982).

Pierson-Hubeny and Archambault (1987) examined the responses of 289

Connecticut school psychologists as part of a larger study of supportive services

personnel including classroom teacher, social workers, guidance counselors, and reading

specialist. The study found that school psychologists experienced moderate rates of

burnout on the emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment dimensions of

burnout and relatively low ratings on the depersonalization dimensions of the MBI. The

study also revealed that role conflict and role ambiguity were rated as stressful by school

psychologists, and that these role related stressors were significant predictors of the three

aspects of burnout examined.

Practitioner to Student Ratio

School psychologists are not evenly distributed across the nation. A study

conducted by Fagan (1994) reported significant state and regional variations and most

12

states do not meet the NASP standard of one school psychologist for every 1,000

students. Lund, Reschly & Connolly-Martin (1998) found that 25.5 percent of full-time

practicing school psychologists work in settings that are at or below the 1,000:1 ratio, and

almost one-half (48.7 percent) work in settings with ratios of 1,5000:1 or less. However,

32.5 percent of school psychologists work in settings with ratios of greater than 2,000:1.

There is considerable state-by-state variation in students to school psychologist ratios

(Lund, Reschly & Connolly-Martin, 1998: Thomas, 2000). Connolly and Reschly (1990)

reported a national student-to-practitioner ratio of 1,874:1. When they reported the ratios

by regions using NASP’s five regions, the northeast has the lowest ratio at 1,183:1 and

the west region has the highest ration at 3,104:1.

In the area of school psychology, numerous investigators have found

psychologists to student ratio or caseloads to be significant predictors (negatively related)

of career satisfaction and have been associated with increased role conflict and burnout

(Ahrens, 1977). Caseload for school psychologists has traditionally been expressed as the

student-to-psychologist ratio. Increased caseloads have been found to decrease the direct

and indirect interventions engaged by school psychologists (Keith, Brown, & Oberman,

1992), influence the opportunity for boundary-spanning activities, and limit role diversity

(Jerrell, 1984). “Work load,” which included caseload, was identified as a factor in high

burnout among school psychologists (Wright & Gutkin, 1981) and caseload has been

found to be negatively related to job satisfaction (Anderson, Hohenshil, & Brown, 1984).

13

Number of Schools

Traditionally, most school psychologists have simultaneously served two or three

schools in their district, but in recent years there appears to be an increasing number who

are housed full-time within a single school. Proctor & Steadman (2003) examined

whether school psychologists who serve a single (“In-House” group) differed from

school psychologists who serve several schools concurrently (“Traditional’ group) in the

three areas of job satisfaction, burnout, and effectiveness as perceived by school

psychologists. Thirty-two practicing school psychologists who were employed by a

single school and 31 who served two or more schools completed a questionnaire that

served as the basis for the study which included seven questions related to demographics

(e.g. age, gender, highest degree, ethnicity, years of practicing as a school psychologist,

number of schools currently served, and prior teaching experience). Items 1-15 related to

job satisfaction, 16-22 related to burnout, and 23-28 pertained to perceived effectiveness

which were all on a Likert-type scale in which the respondents rated their agreement with

each item (Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree). A multivariate analysis of variance was

used to yield a valid statistical analysis. Although the two groups differed on the

measures of job satisfaction, results indicated that neither group is really dissatisfied with

their jobs. The difference between these two groups on the job satisfaction score was the

largest among the three dependent variables. Items such as job diversity, caseload, others’

familiarity with the school psychologists, and integration into school activities provided

the most variance among the two groups. Also, school psychologists demonstrated that

those who serve a single school are less likely to experience symptoms of burnout than

14

those who serve two or more schools. In regards to how school psychologists perceive

their professional effectiveness both groups reported that they believe that they are

effective in helping students, teachers, and administrators and others are knowledgeable

of their professional capabilities.

Location of School

School psychologists are typically employed in the following settings: public or

private schools, universities, clinics, institutions, private practice, and community

agencies. However, the majority (approximately 82.6 percent) practice in primary and

secondary schools. Thomas (2000) reported that the percentage of school psychologists

varies by setting: urban schools 30.3 percent; suburban schools, 44.8 percent; and rural

schools, 24.9 percent.

Professional activities in which school psychologists engage in vary based upon

location and setting of school district. In the past rural school psychologists were more

likely to consult with board members, conduct home visits, and design school-wide

programs rather than their urban and suburban colleagues (Hughes & Clark, 1981).

Goldwasser, Myers, Christenson, & Graden (1983) found that in urban districts, parents

and teachers were less frequently involved in consultation activities such as Support

Team and IEP meetings. School psychologists working in systems requiring a greater

number of special education evaluations per week seemed to have less opportunity to

provide non-special education services such as consultation and prevention activities.

There was a greater tendency for consultation to occur in suburban school districts.

15

There has been increased interest in the problems faced by the rural school

psychologists in recent years. School psychologists working in rural areas are found to

have higher student/psychologists ratio, a shorter tenure in their job, and have less

experience in the field (Hughes, 1982). Rural psychologists in one study reported twice

the level of dissatisfaction with their jobs as that reported by a national sample (Solly &

Hohenshil, 1986). Curtis, Hunley & Grier (2002) examined the relationships between the

professional practices of school psychologists and the factors of practitioner training,

experience, gender, school district setting, and students-to-school psychologist ratio. The

study used a 31 item survey requesting demographic and professional practice

information from 1,411 NASP members. A statistical significance using an analysis of

variance was found between the type of school system and years of experience for school

psychologists working in different settings. School psychologists with more years of

experience and those with higher levels of training were found to have served more

students through consultation and to have conducted more in-service programs when

compared to those with less experience or training. There was not a significant difference

in the number of reevaluations completed between urban and suburban school districts.

Larger student-to-school psychologist ratios were associated with special education

related practices such as initial evaluations and reevaluations.

Role Conflict

Role definition determinants produce role ambiguity. The term refers to a lack of

clarity regarding a professional’s responsibilities, methods, goals, and/or accountability.

Role conflict is another determinant that refers to inconsistent or incompatible role

16

demands. This is especially evident when opposing pressures or expectations are exerted

or experienced in such a way that satisfying one makes compliance with another

impossible. Sheridan & Gutkin (2000) listed several important problems inherent in the

traditional practice of school psychology, including the prevalence of medical model

paradigm, the structure of school psychological services, and the growing incidence of

problems facing young people and their families.

Last & Silberman (1989) point out another obstacle that seems to be challenging

the literature on burnout and drifting away among school psychologists. The challenge is

the immersion in a constant professional identity crisis. This is especially evident in the

United States where there is controversy between the American Psychological

Association (APA) and the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).

Questions of identity crisis not only convey role conflict, but also diffuse identity.

Working out of professional roles and knowledge base may give to an array of role

conflicts and also diffuse identity which can result in emotional exhaustions, stress, and

burnout (Last & Silberman, 1989; Sheridan & Gutkin, 2000). As the needs of schools

change, the school psychology communities must establish a definitive role.

Administration Support

Human service professionals are often expected to work within the restraints of

policies and procedures, are subjected to unhelpful supervisors and colleagues, and are

expected by supervisors to conquer immense work-loads (Edelwich & Brodsky, 1980).

These unreasonable restraints and demands must be contended with on a daily basis, and

17

it is not surprising that the unrelenting demands on the helping professional can produce

high levels of stress.

A number of studies have demonstrated the effect of supervision on the burnout

of school psychologists. The lack of supervision by persons who are not trained as school

psychologists has been found to negatively effect job satisfaction (Anderson, Hohenshil,

& Brown, 1984). Pines (1981) reported that the better the social support relationships, the

less burnout. Pines & Aronson (1988) classify social support actions into six categories

based on extensive research with collaborative groups. The six functions of social support

include: (a) listening, (b) technical support, (c) technical challenge, (d) emotional

support, (e) emotional challenge, and (f) sharing social reality. The research concludes

that people need effective support systems of dynamic communicative feedback to buffer

the potential of burnout.

Niebrugge (1994) surveyed 139 school psychologists from the Illinois School

Psychologists Association to determine variables of burnout. The study used the Maslach

Burnout Inventory, the School Psychologists’ Stress Inventory (SPI), and a specifically

designed demographic and job satisfaction questionnaire. The results of the study

suggested that symptoms of burnout occur frequently among school psychologists with

primarily demographic factors such as satisfaction with supervision and caseload to

psychologists’ discrepancy indexes being the best predictors of burnout.

Direct Services

In 1998 the NASP membership directory provided survey data on the percentage

of time members spend in various professional activities. Less than half of the school

18

psychologists’ reported time was spent assessing children. Included in the process of

assessment is presenting results to parents and school/other staff as well as utilizing

assessment information primarily to plan interventions for students experiencing

academic or behavior difficulties in school. Consultation and behavioral and other

therapeutic interventions accounted for 30 percent of professional time. The remainder

was spent in service training provided and received, administration, and research.

School psychologists have reported that ideal roles would involve a reduction in

the amount of time devoted to assessment and an increase in time devoted to

interventions and consultation (Reschly & Wilson, 1995; Smith, 1984). In a study of

Pennsylvania school psychologists (Levinson, 1990), role functions alone were found to

account for more than one-third of the variance in burnout. School psychologists who

have more diversity in their roles they perform are more satisfied in their jobs (Jerrel,

1984). Hutton, Dubes, & Muir, (1992) explored variables specifically related to

assessment based on an earlier study conducted by Goh, Teslow, & Fuller (1981). Within

the study only the percentage of time spent on assessment activities were analyzed

regionally. Respondents from one region (Eastern) reported spending the least amount of

time on assessment activities (M= 47.34%). Respondents from three out of the four

remaining regions consistently spent the majority of their time on assessment activities.

In all the research presented, each article represents knowledge and factors that

contribute to burnout in the field of school psychology. However, the area of burnout

among school psychologists has gone unaddressed. Most research conducted on the

19

subject of school psychologists and burnout is primarily outdated and needs to be

examined further to obtain updated information in order to prevent stress and burnout.

CHAPTER III

METHODS

Participants

Participants were recruited from the Metropolitan Nashville Public School

System. Participants were employed as a school psychologist in a public educational

setting. Participants included in the research were asked to volunteer to participate in the

current study. All school psychologists were currently working with exceptional

education students. The researcher arrived at the participant’s site of employment to

provide school psychologists a summary of the current study and to obtain participant

involvement in the study.

Instrumentation

Informed Consent. Participants were given informed consents prior to the

questionnaires. Informed consents address participants volunteering for participation,

confidentiality of participation, and purpose of study.

Demographic Questionnaire. Participants were given a demographic

questionnaire, which includes gender, ethnicity, age, educational level, grades assigned,

location of school, number of schools served, years of experience, number of students at

current school, number of special education students served, and number of yearly

evaluations completed. Participants will also be asked to rate their level of support from

21

supervisors, administration, and colleagues as well as rate the most stressful service to

provide as a school psychologist.

School Psychologist and Stress Inventory (SPSI). The School Psychologist and

Stress Inventory was developed by Wise (1985). It is a self-report device consisting of 32

stressful events related to areas such as interpersonal conflict, risks to self and others,

time management, and legal issues. The SPSI is based on a 6-point Likert scale

measuring how often school psychologists experience each statement in their job. Zero

occurring “Never” to 6 occurring “Ever day.” Reliability and validity are not reported for

the SPSI in previous research.

Maslach Burnout Inventor (MBI). The Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach &

Jackson, 1986) is a multidimensional measure of occupational well-being. The Maslach

Burnout Inventory is a 22-item self-report instrument. It consists of three scales:

Emotional Exhaustion (EE), Depersonalization (DP), and Personal Accomplishment

(PA). The Emotional Exhaustion refers to a person’s feelings of being overwhelmed by

job demands. The second factor, Depersonalization, refers to the development of negative

feelings and attitudes toward the client. Lastly, the third factor, Personal

Accomplishment, is displayed in feelings of being incompetent to help clients. People

who experience all three symptoms have the greatest degrees of burnout. Reported

reliability coefficients for the subscales include: .90 for Emotional Exhaustion; .79 for

Depersonalization; and .71 for Personal Accomplishment (Maslach & Jackson, 1986). A

6-point Likert scale of 0= “Never,” 1= “A few times a year or less,” 2= “Once a month,”

22

3= “A few times a month,” 4= “Once a week,” 5= “A few times a week,” and 6= “Every

day” was used as the scoring key for the MBI. For this study, the MBI was used as a

global measure, measuring general burnout of school psychologists.

Rotter Locus of Control Scale. Rotter Locus of Control scale (1966) measures the

extent of a person's internal or external reinforcement beliefs. The scale is a 29-item

forced choice scale. Rotter's data indicated that scores on the I-E scale exhibited

sufficient convergent discriminate validity and satisfactory internal and test-retest

reliability (Beretvas, Suizzo, Durham, & Yarnell, 2008). The scale is scored by summing

the number of external responses, that is, the higher the scores, the more external the

person is.

Procedure

The researcher scheduled a time during after work hours to conduct

questionnaires with school psychologists at the school psychologists’ site of employment.

The researcher conducted research within a group setting with school psychologists. The

school psychologists were given a packet containing four items: (1) consent form (see

Appendix A), (2) demographic form (see Appendix B), (3) the School Psychology and

Stress Inventory (SPSI) (see Appendix C), (4) the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) (see

Appendix D), and (5) the Rotter Locus of Control Scale (see Appendix E). The School

Psychology Stress Inventory (SPSI) was created by Wise (1985). The Maslach Burnout

Inventory (MBI) Scale was created by Maslach & Jackson (1986). For the purpose of this

research, “clients” refer to the students, teacher, parents, and other for whom school

psychologists provide service. The Rotter Locus of Control Scale was created by Rotter

23

(1966). The researcher instructed school psychologists to first complete the consent form

while explaining that this survey is voluntary and completely confidential. The

participants will then be asked to complete the demographic information sheet followed

the SPSI, MBI, and lastly the Rotter Scale. Upon completing the items participants were

then free to leave.

Hypotheses

The following hypotheses are stated in the null:

1. A relationship will occur between higher stress and burnout levels and the increase of

schools served by school psychologists.

2. School psychologists providing direct services in a rural area will report higher levels

of stress and burnout.

3. A relationship will occur between higher stress and burnout levels and the increase of

students served by school psychologists.

4. School psychologists with an external locus of control will report more stressors and

higher burnout than school psychologists with an internal locus of control.

Statistical Analyses

Descriptive statistics were explored through an examination of frequency

distributions. A multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was conducted to

examine the first hypothesis. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was

conducted to examine the second hypothesis. A multivariate analysis of covariance

(MANCOVA) was conducted to examine the third hypothesis. A Pearson’s r correlation

was conducted to examine the last hypothesis.

CHAPTER IV

RESULTS

Participants

Participants were 55 school psychologists working in the Metro Nashville Public

School System. Fifty five out of 62 employed school psychologists returned the surveys

which resulted in an 82% response rate. Subjects were predominantly women (81.8%

followed by men at 18.2%), and employed in urban areas (78.18%, as opposed to rural

21.82%). 3.6% percent indicated they held a master’s degree, 72.7% held an educational

specialist degree, and 23.6% held a doctoral degree.

The data from 55 surveys completed by school psychologists was analyzed using

SPSS version 17.0 (2010). The survey attempted to ascertain the respondents’ stressors,

level of burnout, and locus of control. Descriptive participant attributes (frequency and

percentage) for demographic variables were analyzed and reported in the following table.

25

Table 1

Demographic Characteristics of School Psychologists

Variable Total Percent

Gender

Male 10 18

Female 45 81.8

Race

Caucasian 42 57.0

African American 13 23.6

Age

32-39 years 23 41.8

41-49 years 19 34.7

50-57 years 13 23.5

Education

Masters 2 3.6

Ed. S 40 72.7

Doctoral 13 23.6

Location of School

Urban 43 78.2

Rural 12 21.8

Number of Schools

1 1 1.8

2 13 23.6

3 31 56.4

4 10 18.2

Number of Students

100-150 10 18.2

151-200 36 65.5

201-over 9 16.4

Most Stressful Service

Consultation 7 12.7

Assessment 19 34.5

Interventions 29 52.8__

The results of the school psychologists’ responses to The School Psychologists

Stress Inventory (Wise, 1985) reported a mean score of 98.13 (SD= 16.57) out of a

possible score of 192. A mean score of 98.13 indicated that, on average, the participants

experienced high stress events once a week. The most stressful events encountered by

26

school psychologists were: 1). Not enough time to perform job adequately, 2). Feeling

caught between child’s needs and administrative constraints, 3). Inadequate secretarial

help, and 4). Lack of contact with professional colleagues.

School psychologists reported providing interventions as the most stressful

service to provide in the school setting at 50.9%, followed by providing assessments at

34.5% and, lastly, consultation at 12.7%. Results also indicated that school psychologists

receive minimal support from supervisors and administration.

Statistics from the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1986)

revealed that of the 55 participants, 42.81% reported experiencing moderate levels of

burnout. Only 18.36% of participants scored a total of 26-35, out of a possible 35, on the

burnout scale indicating relatively high levels of burnout. Almost half of the participants

(38.83%) reported low burnout levels of 16-25. The most frequently occurring burnout

items were: 1) Working with people all day is really a strain for me, and 2) I feel I’m

working too hard on my job.

The results from the Rotter Locus of Control Scale (1966) reported that almost

three fourths of the school psychologists (70.91%) working in Metropolitan Nashville

Public Schools reported having an internal locus of control. The remaining 29.09%

reported an external locus of control.

Analysis of Hypotheses

Hypothesis 1 stated that a relationship will occur between stress and burnout levels and

the increase of schools served by school psychologists. Item 8 (number of schools served)

of the demographic questionnaire, the School Psychologists Stress Inventory, and the

27

Maslach Burnout Inventory relate to this hypothesis. A multivariate analysis of

covariance (MANCOVA) between the number of schools served and stress and burnout

(as shown in Table 2) was used to determine whether the hypothesis should be retained or

rejected. Using the Bonferroni approach to control for Type I error across the two

correlations, a p of less than or equal to.01 was required for significance. The

independent variables included schools with four levels (a) 1, (b) 2, (c) 3, and (d) 4.

Years of experience reported by school psychologists stood out as a variable that was

expected to relate to stress and burnout and might obscure the effects of increase of

stressful factors and burnout levels. The overall results of the logistic regression equation

indicated that years of experience did not significantly predict stress and burnout. The

SPSI questionnaire was scored by totaling up the final score of each participant’s survey

(192-161 every day, 160-129 a few times a week, 128-97 once a week, 96-65 a few times

a month, 64-33 a few times a year or less, and 32-0 never). Thus, raw scores range from

0 (lowest stress) to 192 (highest stress level). A median split was used to determine “High

Stress” and “Low Stress” scores. A score less than or equal to 96 was defined as “Low

Stress” and a score greater than 96 was defined as “High Stress.” The MBI questionnaire

was also scored by totaling up the final score of each participant’s survey (132-111 every

day, 110-89 a few times a week, 88-67 once a week, 66-45 a few times a month, 44-23 a

few times a year or less, and 22-0 never). Raw scores were summed for the total, with

reverse-scoring performed for all negative items (e.g. “I am stressed out at my job”). The

results evaluating normality of sampling distributions, linearity, homogeneity of variance,

homogeneity of regression, and reliability of covariates were satisfactory. Results

28

indicated that there was no statistical significance between the increase of schools served

and stress [F(3, 50) = 1.49, p = .230]. The results of the correlation analysis show that

there was no statistical significance between the increase of schools served and burnout

[F(3, 50) = .81, p = .494]. Therefore, the first hypothesis was rejected.

Table 2

Results of Multivariate Analysis of Covariance concerning number of schools served and

stress and burnout_____________________________________________

__________ df SS MS F value p value

burnout 1 1007.982 335.994 .810 .494

stress 3 1138.862 379.621 1.486 .082

Hypothesis 2 stated that school psychologists providing direct services in a rural area will

report higher levels of stress and burnout. Item 7 (location of school) of demographic

questionnaire, the School Psychologists Stress Inventory, and the Maslach Burnout

Inventory relate to this hypothesis. The Bonferroni approach was used to control for Type

I error across the two correlations, a p of less than or equal to.01 was required for

significance. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) between the location of

school served and stress and burnout (as shown in Table 3) was used to determine

whether the hypothesis should be retained or rejected. The results of the correlation

analysis show that the current hypothesis was not supported as provided by the results

stating that there was no statistical significance between the location of schools served

and stress [F(1, 53) = .06, MSE = 16.73, p = .808]. Also, the results indicated that there

was no statistical significance between the location of schools served and burnout [F(1,

53) = .62, MSE = 253.27, p = .433].

29

Table 3

Results of Multivariate Analysis of Variance concerning location of school served and

stress and burnout_________________________________

____________df SS F value p value

burnout 1 253.269 .623 .433

stress 1 16.727 .060 .808__

Hypothesis 3 stated that a relationship will occur between higher stress and burnout levels

and the increase of students served by school psychologists. Item 12 (number of students

served) of demographic questionnaire, the School Psychologists Stress Inventory, and the

Maslach Burnout Inventory relate to this hypothesis. A multivariate analysis of

covariance (MANCOVA) between the number of students served and stress and burnout

(as shown in Table 4) was used to determine whether the hypothesis should be retained or

rejected. Again, the Bonferroni approach was used to control for Type I error across the

two correlations, a p of less than or equal to.01 was required for significance. The

independent variables included number of students served with three levels (a) 1-150, (b)

151-200, and (c) 201- over. Years of experience reported by school psychologists stood

out once again as a variable that was expected to relate to stress and burnout and might

obscure the effects of increase of stressful factors and burnout levels. The overall results

of the logistic regression equation indicated that years of experience did not significantly

predict stress and burnout. Results indicated that there was no statistical significance

between the increase of students served and stress [F(2,51) = .28, p = .756]. The results

of the correlation analysis show that there was no statistical significance between the

increase of schools served and burnout [F(2,51) = .1.04, p = .360]. They hypothesis was

not supported by indication of the results.

30

Table 4

Results of Multivariate Analysis of Covariance concerning number of students served and

stress and burnout_____________________________________________

df SS MS F value p value

burnout 2 854.150 427.075 1.043 .039

stress 2 151.598 75.799 .281 .011

Hypothesis 4 stated that school psychologists with an external locus of control will report

more stressors and higher burnout than school psychologists with an internal locus of

control. A Pearson’s r correlation between external locus of control and stress and

burnout of school psychologists (shown in Table 5) was used to determine whether the

hypothesis should be retained or rejected. Lastly, using the Bonferroni approach to

control for Type I error across the two correlations, a p of less than or equal to.01 was

required for significance. The fourth hypothesis in the study was rejected. The results of

the correlation analysis show that there was no statistical significance between locus of

control and burnout [r(55) = .31, p = .020] and no statistical significance between locus

of control and stress [r(55) = .09, p = .536].

Table 5

Results of Pearson r correlation concerning external locus of control of school

psychologists and stress and burnout level_____________________________

________________________________stress burnout lofc

stress Pearson Correlation 1 .470 .085

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .536

N 55 55 55

burnout Pearson Correlation .470 1 .313

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000

N 55 55 55

lofc Pearson Correlation .085 .313 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .536 .020

____________N 55 55 55

CHAPTER V

DISCUSSION

Only a handful of researchers have investigated the concept of burnout in the field

of school psychology (Huberty & Huebner, 1988; Huebner, 1992; Heubner, 1993a;

Huebner, 1994; Mills & Huebner, 1998; Pierson-Hubeny & Archambault, 1987; Reiner

& Hartshorne, 1982; Sandale, 1993). These studies have attempted to understand and

describe the concept of burnout in the context of school psychology. Only two

nationwide job satisfaction surveys have been completed in the field of school

psychology (Worrell, 2004). In both studies, random samples of school psychologists

who were NASP members were surveyed using a modified version of the Minnesota

Satisfaction Questionnaire. In both the Anderson, Hohenshil, & Brown (1984) study and

the Brown, Hohenshil & Brown (1998) study, 85 percent of school psychologists

indicated that they were satisfied with their jobs.

The current study aimed to examine school psychologists’ levels of stress and

burnout. The study looked at the number of schools served by school psychologists,

location of school, number of special education students served, and locus of control of

school psychologists. Brown, Hohenshil, & Brown (1998) noted that job satisfaction is

necessary to ensure continuous and high quality services to children and the adults who

32

work with them. Studies indicated that job satisfaction influences the emotional and

physical well being of an individual (Coll & Freeman, 1997), and job satisfaction is

associated with stress and burnout (Kesler, 1990).

Number of Schools Served

Prior research has reported the importance years of experience plays in the area

of stress and burnout. The study conducted by McKelvey & Webb (1995) revealed that

one of the strongest correlations with career satisfaction among school psychologists was

years of practice. Huberty & Heubner (1998) noted, as to age, burnout was greatest

among the younger workers, while the older workers were found to have lower rates of

burnout. With increased age, professionals seem to develop a variety of behavioral and

attitudinal patterns that reduced the likelihood of burnout. Last & Silberman (1989)

explained that school psychologists who are exposed for several years to the realities and

demands of professional school psychology, undergo an inevitable process of

“psychological erosion.” That erosion does not usually terminate in burnout, but rather

tends to be resolved though “drifting away” into another field of professional psychology.

For this current study, years of experience was looked at as a covariate, and ruled out as a

factor that accounted for stress and burnout of school psychologists. The average number

of years of experience for school psychologists in this study was 11.2 years. Considering

the limitations of this sample, the results indicated that the number of years of experience

is not related with an increase of stress and burnout.

33

The results of the analyses suggest that a correlation does not exist between the

increase of schools served and higher stress and burnout levels. The results indicated that

school psychologists who are employed in a single school and three schools experience

stress a few times a month and have low levels of burnout. Those serving two and four

schools reported encountering stress once a week with high levels of burnout. Comparing

these two groups, one and three schools and two and four schools, those serving one or

three schools have higher rates of job satisfaction, lower rates of burnout, and may

perceive themselves to be more effective than do school psychologists who serve two or

four schools. School psychologists serving two or four schools reported working in

elementary schools where as those serving one or three schools reported working in

middle and high schools. Finally, the overall total mean scores for burnout (68.25) were

average compared to those for stress (95.4), but nevertheless indicated that stress and

professional burnout does not appear to be a significant problem for this population.

The current results are commensurate with Proctor & Steadman (2003) in

comparing the job satisfaction of school psychologists housed in a single school to those

serving two or more schools, stating that overall both groups reported low levels of

burnout.

Location of School

In this study, there was no relationship between the location of school served by

school psychologists and stress and burnout levels. The study is limited in testing location

of school in relation to stress and burnout levels because the vast majority of school

psychologists in this study reported working in an urban area. Results do not generalize

34

to school psychologists working in other areas such as rural or suburban. The results only

generalize to school psychologists who are working in an urban location.

Arnold, Seekins, & Nelson (1997) compared factors such as job opportunities,

schools, public transportation, salary, prestige, and opportunities for spousal employment

among school psychologists working in urban and rural settings. Those employed in

urban settings reported more job opportunities, access to public transportation, better

schools, higher salary, more prestige, and opportunities for spousal employment.

Reschley & Connoly (1990) investigated the prevailing assumptions regarding

differences between school psychologists in different settings. Perceptions of key issues,

such as job satisfaction, of school psychologists in rural, urban, suburban, and

combination settings were compared using data from a large, nationally representative

sample of practitioners. Four items provided information rather directly related to the key

variable of job satisfaction and indirectly to the likely inclination to leave either the

current employment setting or the school psychology profession. There were no

differences among the groups on any of these variables. School psychologists in all

settings express general satisfaction with their career choice; are equally, as well,

satisfied with their current positions; find that their current positions generally meet the

expectations they had when they entered school psychology graduate work; and the vast

majority intend to continue in a school psychology career.

Practitioner to Student Ratio

Again, ruling out the impact of years of experience among the current sample of

school psychologists, a significant correlation was not found between years of experience

35

and stress and burnout. In this study, there was no relationship between the number of

special education students served by school psychologists and stress and burnout levels.

School psychologists reported an average of 151-200 students served in each of their

schools served per year. The results of a correlation between number of special

education students served and school psychologists’ stress and burnout indicated that the

number of special education students served, in a range from 151 to 200, impacted school

psychologists who experience stress and burnout once a week.

Similar to prior findings, Huebner, Gilligan, & Cobb (2002) highlight the

importance of an appropriate fit between the person and the job. To support this view,

they emphasized a study conducted by Huebner & Mills (1994), in which burnout was

predicted by the difference between the school psychologists’ ideal and actual caseloads,

rather than by the mere number of cases. Huebner (1992) also found that the size of

caseload did not predict burnout, but the school psychologists’ perceptions of their

caseload significantly related to burnout. Hughes (1979) also suggested that the

discrepancy between actual and ideal roles contributes to the decrease in job satisfaction

among school psychologists.

The current and previous studies are also consistent with the results of a study of

clinical psychologists (Raquepaw & Miller, 1989), reporting that their perceptions of

their caseloads did not relate significantly to burnout.

Locus of Control

The results of the last hypothesis found no significance between external locus of

control and higher stress and burnout levels. The findings reveal that overall school

36

psychologists reporting an internal or external locus of control experienced stress and

burnout symptoms once a week.

Wylie (2003) studied the contributions of personality variables to the prediction

of burnout in school psychologists in Arizona. The analysis demonstrated that secure

individuals who are generally relaxed under stressful conditions and who are dependable

and moderately well organized with clear goals are less likely to depersonalize the

students who they work with. The analyses also revealed that easygoing individuals who

do not put unrealistic pressure on themselves feel a high level of personal

accomplishment in their work place. The study also suggests that school psychologists

who reported themselves as easygoing, not inclined to make plans or schedules, not

concerned with demands and putting limited pressure on themselves to perform, appeared

to show a relationship with an overall positive self-assessment of his/her occupational

effort, abilities, and accomplishments as school psychologists.

Administration Support

Lawler (1973) stated that it is “not surprising that the research shows that job

satisfaction is a function of both the individual and the work environment.” The

characteristics of the work environment, including the social climate, can influence an

individual’s perception of overall job satisfaction, and combined with the individual’s

social and demographic characteristics may in fact be the major determinants of job

satisfaction.

According to Brown (1992), employee supervision and interaction have been

found to be the two significant factors when looking at job satisfaction. Supervision was

37

the area that school psychologists reported receiving minimal to no support. These

findings conquer with previous research provided by Niebrugge (1994) that reported

demographic variables, such as satisfaction with supervision, were found to be the best

predictors of burnout among 139 school psychologists from the Illinois School

Psychologist Association. Positive interactions tend to include constructive feedback,

effective communication, and a focus on quality rather than quantity (Schrofell, 1999).

These findings are consistent with the results of Huebner’s (1994) study in which

supervisors’ level of support contributed significantly to school psychologists’

depersonalization behaviors as well as to their job satisfaction.

The study indicated that “Lack of contact with professional colleagues” was one

of the highest stressful events that school psychologists encountered. This is partly due to

the recent removal of the school psychologists’ main office, in which they were able to

collaborate and consult with one another regarding professional tasks. Fellow employees

can satisfy many social needs, and sympathetic co-workers can increase job satisfaction

(Green, 2000). Leiter (1988) found that co-worker interactions both ameliorate and

exacerbate burnout. He found that (a) a greater number of links with co-workers in the

informal network was associated with increasing feelings of personal accomplishments,

and (b) that a greater number of reciprocal links with co-workers in the work-related

network predicted increased feelings of personal accomplishment and also a greater

emotional exhaustion.

38

Direct Services

Results related to issues of professional concern indicated that participants felt

significant restrictions in their functioning in the schools due to time constraints imposed

by referrals for testing and administrative duties. As cited earlier in the chapter, Last &

Silberman (1989) found overload determinants contributing to this drifting away from the

profession by school psychologists. These authors described quantitative overload, such

as, too much to do or the volume of tasks to be executed in order to complete an

assignment successfully and too many responsibilities to be met at too rapid a pace. This

is because school psychologists are required, within the framework of a single case, to

engage in a variety of activities, assignments, contacts, interventions, planning, and

coordination that must be completed in regard to assessment at various levels, consult

with the various significant persons involved, and direct interventions and supervision.

In the past school psychologists have consistently expressed the desire to vary

their tasks to include a decreased emphasis on assessment and an increased emphasis on

interventions (Cook & Patterson, 1977). Reschley & Wilson (1995) surveys completed

in 1986 and 1991 indicated that half of the school psychologists estimated that they spent

75% of their time with psychological testing activities. The current study found that

school psychologists find providing interventions as the most stressful job performed.

This is partly due to the demands of state law and requirements when assessing for the

criteria of a Specific Learning Disability. Years before the term Response to Intervention

(RTI) came into use, school psychologists could assess a child who the Support Team

suspected of having a Learning Disability without having to gather weeks of pertinent

39

information. The reason for the actual and desired role discrepancy is largely related to

special education laws such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

which dictate equality for children with disabilities. These laws define the role of the

school psychologist to include assessment, consultation, and parent training. As a result,

Jenkins and Crumbly (1986) report that special education duties of school psychologists

increased 30% after the enactment of Public Law 94-142 (Education of the

Handicapped Act). It seems ironic that the legislation that caused a surge in the need for

school psychologists (Dwyer & Gorin, 1996) is also one of the primary sources of role

restriction and dissatisfaction within the profession.

Limitations

Limitations of this study are the relatively small sample size, lack of broad

geographic representation, and the use of outdated standardized questionnaires. The

generalizability of this study is limited by the use of Metropolitan Nashville Public

School Psychologists as subjects. Results can only be generalized with the Metro Public

Schools. The reliance of qualitative, subjective determination for ratings is a significant

limitation. Self-report measures such as those involved in the School Psychology Stress

Inventory, Maslach Burnout Inventory, and Rotter Locus of Control Scale impose

additional limitations. Self-report tendencies towards enhancement, denial, self-

deceptions, and individual response style may all affect self-report measure results.

Limitations in the current study interfered with the examination of each of the

four hypotheses. The first hypothesis conducted examined the correlation of the increase

of schools served and stress and burnout levels. Due to a homogeneous sample of school

40

psychologists serving no more than three schools, the examination of the first hypothesis

addressing the relationship between schools served and stress and burnout was limited.

The range of number of schools served varied largely by participants and did not result in

a significant increase or decrease of school psychologists’ stress and burnout levels.

The second stated hypothesis addressed the differences between school location

and stress and burnout levels. The vast majority of school psychologists reported their

school location in an urban setting. Due to the lack of variability of location of the

identified school, the MANOVA resulted in non-significance.

The third hypothesis addressed the correlation between number of special

education students served and stress and burnout levels of school psychologists. The non-

significant result of the analysis between these variables may be misleading due to

participants who identified serving 151-200 students overshadowing other participants by

more than forty five percent. Although, school psychologists who reported serving 100-

150 special education students had the lowest burnout rate, but they also reported having

the highest stress factors serving the minimal of students.

A limitation also occurred with the examination of the fourth hypothesis

regarding the locus of control and stress and burnout levels of school psychologists.

Overall, both groups, internal and external locus of control, reported signs of stress and

burnout once a week.

41

Recommendations

Burnout should be recognized as a factor in the field of school psychology. When

it occurs and why it occurs needs to be regularly investigated and interventions need to be

continuously modified to accommodate those identified as burned-out or emotionally

exhausted. It is important for the administrator and trainer of school psychologists to

begin to suggest all school psychologists undergo anti-burnout intervention throughout

their career as part of their professional development.

The most critical to the current practice of school psychologist, is the implications

of the correlation between personality and burnout. It will be critical for those training

and hiring school psychologists to become aware of certain personality characteristics

and the relationship to burnout.

School psychologists, particularly those who are experiencing high level of stress,

should be educated to symptoms of burnout during their graduate training. School

psychologists needs to take the time to develop a suitable array of coping strategies that

can be used to dissipate the stress that can lead to strain and hence burnout.

Suggestions for Future Research

This study could be replicated with a larger sample derived from a greater number

of states. A qualitative design could potentially capture the difference in perceived job

stress and burnout from county to county in Tennessee by investigating closely the subtle

differences in population served and difference in roles.

Additionally, a longer and more recent questionnaire would lend itself to more

stringent examinations of construct validity, such as factor analysis. Items could also be

42

added that examine other variables related to job satisfaction, burnout, and effectiveness,

such as diversity of student population and socioeconomic status.

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54

Appendix A

Informed Consent

55

CONSENT FORM

The purpose of this study is to determine how stress, burnout, and locus of control are

related for school psychologists providing direct services in the public education setting.

The information will be collected anonymously and will be kept confidential. Your

participation is totally voluntary, and you may refuse to participate. If you participate,

please answer questions truthfully. There are no known risks associated with your

participation. The four questionnaires will take an estimated twenty minutes to

complete. You may leave or withdraw from the study at anytime without penalty.

If you have questions about your participation in this research, please contact the

Principal Researcher or the Dissertation Supervisor:

Shana Reece, M.S. Steve Trotter, Ph. D.

Department of Psychology Department of Psychology

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University

(615) 417-6470 (615) 963-5161

Signature:________________________________ Date:_________________

56

Appendix B

Demographic Questionnaire

57

Please circle appropriate response or indicate the numbered responses to each question on the line to the

right of each question. Your information will be kept strictly confidential

1. Gender: Male/ Female

2. Race: Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Asian, other

3. Age: ______

4. Education Level: Please circle highest degree:

Master’s degree

Educational Specialist degree

Doctoral degree, PhD

5. Primary grade level(s) that you are assigned:

Pre-School

Elementary School

Middle School

High School

7. What area is your school located:

Urban Setting (Characteristic of the city or city life)

Rural Setting (Relating to, or characteristic of the country)

8. How many schools do you serve? _____

9. How many years have you been in your district?

____ (1) 1-5 years ______(2) 6-10 years _____(3) 10-15 years _____ 16-20 years

10. How many years have you been at your current school?

_____ (1) 1-5 years ______(2) 6-10 years _____(3) 10-15 years _____ 16-20 years

11. Approximately how many students attend your school? _____

12. Approximately how many special education students does your school currently serve? _____

13. How much support do you receive from supervisor(s)?

None Minimal Adequate Extensive

14. How much support do you receive from administration?

None Minimal Adequate Extensive

15. How much support do you receive from other colleagues?

None Minimal Adequate Extensive

16. Which service provides the most stress for you in your school setting:

Consultation Assessment Interventions

58

Appendix C

School Psychologists and Stress Inventory (SPSI)

59

Stress Inventory

Please read each statement carefully and mark the number (from 0 to 6) that best described how

frequently you experience that statement in your job. Please respond as honestly and as accurately as

possible. Your responses will be kept strictly confidential.

Never A few times Once A few times a Once A few times a Every

a year or less a month month a week week day

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

__ Notification of unsatisfactory job performance __ Report Writing

__ Not enough time to perform job adequately __ Potential suicide cases

__ Public speaking arrangements (e.g. PTA) __ Insufficient recognition of your work

__ Working with uncooperative principals and other __ Being told that you “have it easy” by

administrators classroom teachers

__ Conducting in-service workshops __ Telling parents their child is handicapped

__ A change in the schools/districts with you serve __ Lack of consensus in a staffing

__ Lack of appropriate services for children __Inadequate secretarial help

__ Keeping up with current professional literature __ Lack of contact with professional

__ Incompetent and/or inflexible “superiors” colleagues

__ A backlog of more than 5 reports to be written __ Screening bilingual children

__ Pressure to complete a set of number of cases (e.g. you __ Impending teacher’s a strike in your

must test at least 100 children a year) district

__ Conference or staffings with resistant teachers __ Supervising an intern or school

__ Keeping your district legal (i.e. in compliance with psychology graduate student

federal, state, and local regulations) __ Conducting parent groups

__ Teacher dissatisfaction with your recommendations __ Lack of availability of appropriate

__ Feeling caught between child’s needs and administrative assessment materials

constraints (i.e. trying to fit a child into existing program) __ Threat of due process hearing

__ Child abuse cases __ Spending time driving between schools

__ Carrying testing equipment around in unfavorable

weather conditions

Adapted from “School Psychologists and Stress Inventory” by P. Wise, 1985.

60

Appendix D

Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)

61

Burnout Inventory

Please read each statement carefully and decide if you feel this way about your job. If you have never had this feeling, write a “0”

(zero) before the statement. If you have had this feeling, indicate how often you feel it by writing the number (from 1 to 6) that best

describes how frequently you feel that way. For purposes of this research, “clients” refer to the students, teachers, parents, and

others for whom you provide your service. Please respond as honestly and as accurately as possible. Your responses will be kept

strictly confidential.

Never A few times Once A few times a Once A few times a Every

a year or less a month month a week week day

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

How Often Statements:

(0-6)

1._____ I feel emotionally drained from my work.

2._____ I feel used up at the end of the workday.

3._____ I feel fatigued when I get up in the morning and have to face another

day on the job.

4._____ I can easily understand how my clients feel about things.

5._____ I feel as if I treat my clients as if they were impersonal objects.

6._____ Working with people all day is really a strain for me.

7._____ I deal very effective with the problems of my clients.

8._____ I feel burned out from my work.

9._____ I feel I’m positively influencing other people’s through my work.

10.____ I’ve become more callous toward people since I took this job.

11.____ I worry that this job is hardening me emotionally.

12.____ I feel very energetic.

13.____ I feel frustrated by my job.

14.____ I feel I’m working too hard on my job.

15.____ I don’t really care what happens to my clients.

16.____ Working with people directly puts too much stress on me.

17.____ I can easily create a relaxed atmosphere with my clients.

18.____ I feel exhilarated after working closely with my clients.

19.____ I have accomplished many worthwhile things in this job.

20.____ I feel like I’m at the end of my rope.

21.____ In my work I deal with emotional problems very calmly.

22.____ I feel clients blame me for some of their problems.

Administrative Use Only:

EE: _____ _____ DP: _____ _____ PA: _____ _____

62

Appendix E

Rotter Locus of Control Scale

63

Rotter Locus of Control Scale

Please read each statement carefully .Indicate which of each statement you believe to be true, despite what you may wish to be true.

There are no right or wrong answers.

1. _____ Children get into trouble because their parents punish them too harshly.

_____ The trouble with most children nowadays is that their parents are too easy with them.

2. _____ Many of the unhappy things in people's lives are partly due to bad luck.

_____ People's misfortunes result from the mistakes they make.

3. _____ One of the major reasons why we have wars is because people don't take enough interest

in politics.

_____ There will always be wars, no matter how hard people try to prevent them.

4. _____ In the long run people get the respect they deserve in this world

_____ Unfortunately, an individual's worth often passes unrecognized no matter how hard he

or she tries.

5. _____ The idea that teachers are unfair to students is nonsense.

_____ Most students don't realize the extent to which their grades are influenced by accidental

happenings.

6. _____ Without the right breaks one cannot be an effective leader.

_____ Capable people who fail to become leaders have not taken advantage of their

opportunities.

7. _____ No matter how hard you try some people just don't like you.

_____ People who can't get others to like them don't understand how to get along with others.

8. _____ Heredity plays the major role in determining one's personality

_____ It is mainly one's experiences in life which determine what they're like.

9. _____ I have often found that what is going to happen, will happen.

_____ Trusting to fate has never turned out as well for me as making a decision to take a

definite course of action.

10. _____ In the case of the well prepared student there is rarely if ever such.a thing as an unfair

test.

_____ Many times exam questions tend to be so unrelated to course work that studying is often

useless.

11. _____ Becoming a success is a matter of hard work. Luck has little or nothing to do with it.

_____ Getting a good job depends mainly on being in the right place at the right time.

12. _____ The average citizen can have an influence in government decisions.

_____ This world is run by the few people in power, and there is not much the little guy can do

about it.

13. _____ When I make plans, I am almost certain that I can make them work.

_____ It is not always wise to plan too far ahead because many things turn out to be a matter of

good or bad fortune.

64

14. _____ There are certain people who are just no good.

_____ There is some good in everybody.

15. _____ In my case getting what I want has little or nothing to do with luck.

_____ Many times we might just as well decide what to do by flipping a coin.

16. _____ Who gets to be the boss often depends on who was lucky enough to be in the right place

first.

_____ Getting people to do the right thing depends upon ability, and luck has little or nothing to

do with it.

17. _____ As far as world affairs are concerned, most of us are the victims of forces we can neither

understand, nor control.

_____ By taking an active part in political and social affairs the people can control world events.

18. _____ Most people don't realize the extent to which their lives are controlled by accidental

happenings.

_____ There really is no such thing as "luck."

19. _____ One should always be willing to admit mistakes.

_____ It is usually best to cover up one's mistakes.

20. _____ It is hard to know whether or not a person really likes you.

_____ How many friends you have depends upon how nice a person you are.

21. _____ In the long run the bad things that happen to us are balanced by the good ones.

_____ Most misfortunes are the result of lack of ability, ignorance, laziness, or all three.

22. _____ With enough effort we can wipe out political corruption.

_____ It is difficult for people to have much control over the things politicians do in office.

23. _____ Sometimes I can't understand how teachers arrive at the grades they give.

_____ There is a direct relationship between how hard I study and the grades I get.

24. _____ A good leader expects people to decide for themselves what they should do.

_____ A good leader makes it clear to everybody what their jobs are.

25. _____ Many times I feel that I have little influence over the things that happen to me.

_____ I do not believe that chance or luck plays an important role in my life.

26. _____ People are lonely because they don't try to be friendly.

_____ There's not much use in trying too hard to please people. If they like you, they like you.

27. _____ There is too much emphasis on athletics in high school.

_____ Team sports are an excellent way to build character.

28. _____ What happens to me is my own doing.

_____ Sometimes I feel that I don't have enough control over the direction my life is taking.

29. _____ Most of the time I can't understand why politicians behave the way they do.

_____ In the long run the people are responsible for bad government on a national as well as on

a local level.

65

Appendix F

Institutional Review Board Letter of Acceptance

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER M/F

2342219122291414

Research and Sponsored Programs Tennessee State University 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd. Nashville, Tennessee 37209-1561 Office of the Vice President

To: Shana Reece shanaj20@hotmail.com Dr. Steve Trotter

strotter@tnstate.edu Dept.: Educational Administration

From: Dr. G. Pamela Burch-Sims, Chair, Institutional Review Board Re: Protocol #HS2009-2356 Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The document listed below has been carefully reviewed and found to be in compliance with OPRR document title 45, Code of Federal Regulations part 46, the protection of human subjects, as amended by Federal policy, effective August 19, 1991. This project is approved as it presents minimal or no research risks to the pool of impending human subjects. Please make note, that any deviations in the administration of the protocol, accidental or otherwise should be reported to the IRB as soon as possible. The FWA for Tennessee State University is #FWA00007692, which is effective from July 16, 2007 through July 16, 2010. "The Relationship among Stress, Burnout, and Locus of Control of School Psychologists"

This approval is valid for one year from the date indicated above. Continuation of research beyond that date requires re-approval by the Institutional Review Board.

Please contact me at 963-5661 or e-mail irb@tnstate.edu for additional information.