Teacher burnout factors as predictors of adherence to behavioral intervention

Abstract

It is hypothesized that factors related to teacher burnout influence treatment adherence. This study examines the relation of teacher burnout to the frequency and quality of behavioral intervention implementation. A sample of 45 general and special education teachers were trained to implement the Good Behavior Game, an intervention designed to assist teachers in the management of problem behaviors in the classroom, and asked to implement it each day for 28 weeks. Direct observation data were collected from teacher implementation of the Good Behavior Game. A multiple regression analysis was used to examine the predictive relation between three subsets of the Maslach Burnout Inventory: a) Emotional Exhaustion, b) Depersonalization, and c) Personal Accomplishment, and two indicators of adherence: a) mean frequency of implementation of the Good Behavior Game and b) Likert ratings of quality of implementation. Significant main effects were found for Emotional Exhaustion and Personal Accomplishment on Adherence. A post hoc analysis conducted to explore directional relations between independent and dependent variables resulted in the following conclusions: a) Group membership in low, moderate, or high levels of any single burnout factor was not statistically significant as an individual predictor of adherence and b) group differences exist between factors of Emotional Exhaustion and Personal Accomplishment confirming relation between high levels of exhaustion and low levels of satisfaction with personal accomplishment. Further examination of means plots determined directional relation between high levels of emotional exhaustion and greater adherence.