Economic subjects | Human resource management » Brandon Morgan - The Relationship between the Big Five Personality Traits and Burnout in South African University Studens

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS AND BURNOUT IN SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS by Brandon Morgan DISSERTATION submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MAGISTER ARTIUM in PSYCHOLOGY in the FACULTY OF HUMANITIES at the UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG SUPERVISOR: DR KARINA DE BRUIN OCTOBER 2008 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS “Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn of him” Ralph Waldo Emerson I am deeply indebted to the following people: Dr. de Bruin, Prof HG Pretorius, Dr Arndt, Prof Salanova, Prof Bakker, Prof de Bruin, Ms. Taylor, and Statcon A special thank you to all the students for participating in this research. Without your willingness to respond, this dissertation would not exist. ABSTRACT From the conceptualisation of burnout in the 1970’s until present day, burnout has been recognised as a significant problem for both individuals and organisations. Although originally confined to the helping professions, the notion

that burnout can also occur in university students has recently emerged. University students experience a myriad of stressors on a daily basis, and may develop burnout and several of the symptoms of burnout. This in turn may have deleterious consequences for both the student and the university. With the recently developed Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Survey, the examination of burnout in university students has received increasingly more research attention. However, the psychometric properties of this instrument has received limited research attention in South Africa. The relationship between burnout and personality has also received limited attention, both internationally and in South Africa. The role of personality in burnout is considered pertinent to a complete conceptualisation of the antecedents to burnout. Recent research suggests that Neuroticism and Extroversion tend to consistently demonstrate a relationship with burnout. The present study aimed to explore the notion

of burnout in university students in the South African context, relying on the three-factor structure definition of burnout as forwarded by Maslach and Jackson (1981). These three factors, namely emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment were complemented with a fourth structure, namely professional inefficacy, as suggested by Bresó, Salanova and Schaufeli (2007) and Schaufeli and Salanova (2007). The aim of this study was to explore the psychometric properties of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Survey, and to investigate the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout in South African university students (N = 297). Participants completed the Basic Traits Inventory - Short Form (BTI-SF; Taylor & de Bruin, 2006), the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Survey (MBISS; Schaufeli, Martínez, Pinto, Salanova & Bakker, 2002), and a biographical questionnaire. In order to examine the reliability and construct

validity of the MBI-SS, Cronbach alpha coefficients were determined and confirmatory factor analysis were performed. The results indicated coefficients of 087 for emotional exhaustion, 0.88 for personal accomplishment and 078 for professional efficacy The confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor structure of burnout. Only one item was found to load on two factors. The relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout was investigated by means of Pearson product moment correlations, and multiple regression analyses. The results indicated that Neuroticism demonstrated a positive relationship with emotional exhaustion (r = 0.343; p <001) and depersonalisation (r = 0.266; p < 001) and a negative relationship with professional efficacy (r = -0.245; p < 001) Extroversion was negatively related to emotional exhaustion (r = -0.129; p < 005) and cynicism (r = -0139; p < 005), and positively related to professional efficacy (r = 0.211; p < 001)

Openness to Experience demonstrated a positive relationship with professional efficacy (r = 0.25; p < 001) Conscientiousness showed a negative relationship with emotional exhaustion (r = -0.167; p < 001) and cynicism (r = -0229; p < 001) and a positive relationship with professional efficacy (r = 0.44; p < 001) Agreeableness demonstrated a negative relationship with cynicism (r = -0.174; p < 0.01) and a positive relationship with professional efficacy (r = 0226; p < 001) The multiple regression analyses revealed that the personality traits were able to predict approximately 13% of the variance in emotional exhaustion (R² = 0.133, F(5, 288) = 8.835, p < 0001) The personality traits accounted for 128% of the variance in cynicism (R² = 0.128, F(5, 288) = 8480, p < 0001) and almost 25% of the variance in professional efficacy (R² = 0.248, F(5, 288) = 19037, p < 0.001) In the presence of the other traits, only Neuroticism was statistically significantly

related to emotional exhaustion (β = 0.316, r = 0308, t = 5612, p < 0.001) In regards to cynicism, Neuroticism (β = 0227, r = 0221, t = 4015, p < 0.001) and Conscientiousness (β = -0180, r = -0168, t = -3058, p < 0005) were found to be statistically significantly related to the cynicism factor in the presence of the other traits. Neuroticism (β = -0157, r = -0153, t = -3000, p < 0005) and Conscientiousness (β = 0.368, r = 0343, t = 6722, p < 0001) were also found to be statistically significantly related to professional efficacy in the presence of the other traits. The investigation indicated the importance of taking student burnout into account. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that personality traits are related to burnout, and thus knowledge of personality traits may assist with preventative counselling in burnout. The importance of a valid and reliable instrument to measure burnout in university students was also demonstrated. Key words: burnout,

personality, Big Five, student, psychometric properties, correlations. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments Abstract Table of contents List of figures List of tables CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION, PROBLEM STATEMENT AND FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Rationale, problem statement and aim of the study 3 1.3 Research questions 7 1.4 Definition of key terms 7 1.41 Stress 7 1.42 Burnout 8 1.43 Engagement 8 1.44 Personality 9 1.45 The five-factor model 9 1.46 Student 1.5 Preview of the contents of the following chapters 10 10 CHAPTER 2: BURNOUT 2.1 Introduction 12 2.2 The historical background of burnout 12 2.3 The three-factor structure of burnout 15 2.4 The development of the burnout dimensions over time 19 2.5 The Maslach Burnout Inventories 20 2.6 Theories and models of burnout 22 2.7 The structural model of burnout 2.71 The job demands-resources model 26 27 2.711 Job demands 29 2.712 Job resources 31 2.713 Research evidence of the job

demands-resource model 33 2.72 Individual factors 36 2.721 Demographic factors 36 2.722 Personality factors 38 2.723 Coping styles 39 2.73 Summary of organisational and individual factors leading to burnout 40 2.74 The costs of burnout 41 2.741 The individual level 41 2.742 Organisational aspects 44 2.8 Stress and burnout in students 45 2.9 Conclusion 52 2.10 Preview of the contents of the following chapter 53 CHAPTER 3: THE FIVE-FACTOR MODEL OF PERSONALITY 3.1 Introduction 54 3.2 The trait approach to personality 54 3.3 Historical developments of the trait approach 56 3.31 Gordon Allport 58 3.32 Raymond Cattell 60 3.33 Hans Eysenck 62 3.4 The five-factor model of personality 63 3.5 Research findings and critiques of the five-factor model 65 3.51 Heritability and biological basis 66 3.52 Stability of traits 67 3.53 Cross-cultural studies 68 3.54 Factor disagreement 69 3.55 Critiques from Mischel 3.6 The five factors 70 71 3.61

Neuroticism 71 3.62 Extroversion 73 3.63 Openness to Experience 74 3.64 Agreeableness 76 3.65 Conscientiousness 77 3.7 Personality and burnout 79 3.8 Conclusion 86 3.9 Preview of the contents of the following chapter 86 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHOD 4.1 Introduction 87 4.2 Research design 87 4.21 The quantitative research paradigm 87 4.22 Descriptive and inferential statistics 88 4.23 Survey design and correlational research 88 4.3 Hypotheses 89 4.4 Research method 90 4.41 Participants 90 4.42 Instruments 94 4.421 The Basic Traits Inventory - Short Form 94 4.422 The Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Survey 96 4.423 Biographical questionnaire 98 4.43 Administration of the questionnaires and procedure 4.5 Data analyses 98 98 4.6 Ethical considerations 100 4.7 Preview of the contents of the following chapter 101 CHAPTER 5: RESULTS 5.1 Introduction 102 5.2 Psychometric properties of the MBI-SS 102 5.21 Descriptive statistics of

the MBI-SS 102 5.22 The reliability coefficients of the MBI-SS 103 5.23 Confirmatory factor analysis of the MBI-SS 104 5.231 Factor rotation 106 5.232 Correlations of the factors 107 5.24 Hypotheses related to the reliability and validity of the MBI-SS 107 5.25 Summary of the statistical findings of the MBI-SS 108 5.3 The relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout 108 5.31 The correlations between the Big Five personality traits and burnout 5.32 The combined effects of personality traits on burnout 108 111 5.33 Hypotheses of the relationship between personality traits and burnout 115 5.34 Summary of the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout 116 5.4 Conclusion 117 5.5 Preview of the contents of the following chapter 117 CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 6.1 Introduction 118 6.2 Hypotheses 118 6.3 Discussion of the results of the study 119 6.31 Discussion of the reliability and construct validity of the

MBI-SS 119 6.32 Discussion of the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout 6.33 Discussion of the predictive effect of the Big Five personality 122 traits on burnout 128 6.4 Limitations and recommendations 131 6.5 Implications of the study 134 6.6 Conclusion 134 References 137 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 The adapted process model of burnout Figure 5.1 Cattell’s screeplot of the eigenvalues of the MBI-SS 27 105 LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Summary of research findings on factors related to stress 51 and burnout in students Table 3.1 Summary of research findings on the relationship between 83 burnout and personality traits Table 4.1 Gender and racial group distribution of participants 91 Table 4.2 Home language distribution of participants 92 Table 4.3 Faculty distribution of participants 93 Table 4.4 Year of study distribution of participants 93 Table 4.5 Part-time work distribution of participants 94 Table 5.1 Mean scores

and standard deviations of the MBI-SS 103 Table 5.2 Pattern matrix with oblimin rotation of three-factor solution 106 of MBI-SS items Table 5.3 Factor correlation matrix 107 Table 5.4 Correlation matrix of the Big Five personality traits and 109 burnout Table 5.5 Predictive exhaustion effect of personality traits on emotional 111 Table 5.6 Regression weights, t-test and effect sizes in the prediction 112 of emotional exhaustion Table 5.7 Predictive effect of personality traits on cynicism 113 Table 5.8 Regression weights, t-test and effect sizes in the prediction 113 of cynicism Table 5.9 Predictive effect of personality traits on professional 114 efficacy Table 5.10 Regression weights, t-test and effect sizes in the prediction of professional efficacy 115 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION, PROBLEM STATEMENT AND FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY 1.1 Introduction “The relationship that people have with their work and the difficulties that can arise when that relationship

goes awry, have been long recognised as a significant phenomena of the modern age” (Maslach, Schaufeli & Leiter, 2001, p. 398). This phenomenon is known as burnout, and has received much research attention since the 1970’s (Maslach et al., 2001; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998) Historically, the concept of burnout was conceptualised as occurring in the human-service fields (Maslach & Jackson, 1981; Schaufeli & Buunk, 2002; Schaufeli, Leiter, Maslach & Jackson, 1996), with the result that many studies focused exclusively on these population groups (cf. Maslach & Schaufeli, 1993; Michie & Williams, 2003). However, it has become clear that burnout also occurs in contexts beyond the human-service occupations (Bakker, Demerouti & Schaufeli, 2002; Schaufeli et al., 1996) Subsumed under this finding is the idea that burnout can also occur in university students - a notion previously believed to be fallacious (Neumann, FinlayNeumann & Reichel, 1990; Schaufeli,

Martínez, Pinto, Salanova & Bakker, 2002). This notion has led to an upsurge of studies examining burnout in the student population (Gauché, 2006; Mostert, Pienaar, Gauché & Jackson, 2007; Pienaar & Sieberhagen, 2005; Schaufeli et al., 2002) Although this field of study has recently received attention in South Africa, there still appears to be a dearth of research on burnout, especially in the context of students (Mostert et al., 2007; Pienaar & Sieberhagen, 2005; Sieberhagen, 2004). 1 The foremost inventory to measure burnout is the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). However, due to the limited studies examining burnout in students in South Africa, there is a need for further examinations into the psychometric properties of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Survey, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory in general (Mostert et al., 2007; Pienaar & Sieberhagen, 2005; Rothmann, 2003). Mental health professionals have both an ethical and

professional responsibility toward research of psychological tests used in South Africa (Foxcroft, Roodt & Abrahams, 2005; Health Professions Council of South Africa, 2002). This responsibility is clearly evidenced by the Employment Equity Act (1998), which states that no psychometric assessment measure may be used that is not valid and reliable or that is biased toward a particular cultural group. In addition to limited studies examining burnout in South Africa, it appears that the relationship between personality and burnout has also received a paucity of research in the South African context (cf. Rothmann, 2003; Storm & Rothmann, 2003). However, this is not unique to South Africa, as it appears that the relationship between personality and burnout has generally been ignored (Hochwälder, 2006; Maslach, 1993; Zellars, Perrewé & Hochwarter, 2000). Maslach (1993) contends that her predominant view of burnout from a socialpsychological framework has resulted in limited

studies examining the role of personality in burnout. It appears that little or no research has been conducted examining the relationship between personality traits and burnout in South African university students. In light of the aforementioned, the aim of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of the Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survey (MBI-SS), as well as to investigate the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout in a sample of South African university students. This study will thus contribute to knowledge regarding the psychometric properties of the MBI-SS, and provide greater insight into the role of personality in burnout. 2 1.2 Rationale, problem statement and aim of the study The archetype of burnout focused on the helping professions and human-service fields (Freudenberger & Richelson, 1980; Maslach & Jackson, 1981; Maslach & Schaufeli, 1993). Due to this conceptualisation, research has had a proclivity for exploring

burnout in professions such as nursing, psychiatry, physiotherapy, education and volunteer workers (cf. Lazuras, 2006; Santavirta, Solovieva & Theorell, 2007; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998; Wu, Zhu, Wang, Wang & Lan, 2007). A similar trend has emerged in research conducted on burnout in students; with this research mainly focusing on medical interns and nursing students (cf. Moffat, McConnachie, Ross & Morrison, 2004; Ried, Motycka, Mobley & Meldrum, 2006; Willcock, Daly, Tennant & Allard, 2004). Although many students do not hold formal employment, their student based activities can be viewed as their job. For example, students “are engaged in structured, coercive activities (e.g attending classes, completing assignment(s)) that are directed towards a specific goal (i.e passing exams))” (Bresó, Salanova & Schaufeli, 2007, p. 462; Schaufeli & Salanova, 2007) Many students who seek counselling services may be experiencing several symptoms of the burnout

complex (Jacobs & Dodd, 2003). Furthermore, burnout may also lead to reduced academic performance, impaired memory ability, reduced self-esteem, exhaustion, and intentions to drop out of one’s studies (Gauché, 2006; Jacobs & Dodd, 2003; Law, 2007; Meier & Schmeck, 1985; Schaufeli et al., 2002) As early as in 1981, Pines, Aronson and Kafry (1981) argued that burnout can occur in students. Several years later, Neumann et al (1990, pp 20-21) wrote: “Research on students’ burnout in colleges may emerge as one of the promising areas of investigation in higher education for the following reasons. First, students’ burnout may be the key for understanding a wide range of students’ behaviors during their college years (for example, attrition, course selection, academic 3 performance). Second, students’ burnout may also influence students’ future relationships to their college (for example, commitment to the college and potential contributions as

alumni). Third, the phenomenon of students’ burnout may affect the general attractiveness of the college for new students with potential ramifications for present and future enrolment. Therefore, students’ burnout can be an important aspect of college effectiveness that may have distinct policy implications for institutions of higher learning.” Thus, the study of burnout in students is of paramount importance. Despite the above-mentioned statement by Neumann et al. (1990), the Maslach Burnout Inventory - the foremost instrument used in the assessment of burnout (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998) - was only adapted for the student population group in 2002 by Schaufeli et al. (2002) Prior to this adaptation many studies examining burnout in students would utilise the original Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), where certain words such as recipients would be replaced with instructors (Schaufeli et al., 2002) Schaufeli et al (2002) argue that this practice is problematic, as the meaning

of an item is altered by these aforesaid replacements. It appears that in South Africa, there are limited studies exploring burnout in the student population, and that few studies have made use of the MBI-SS in this population group (Gauché, 2006; Mostert et al., 2007; Pienaar & Sieberhagen, 2005; Sieberhagen, 2004). Pienaar and Sieberhagen (2005) mention that their study is the second study globally to explore the psychometric properties of the MBI-SS, with this statement attesting to the limited studies of the MBI-SS in South Africa. These aforementioned studies have added much value to knowledge regarding the psychometric properties of the MBI-SS, and an understanding of burnout in the South African context. However, there are several limitations to these studies. These limitations include homogenous population groups (Afrikaans and Setswana speaking students) and a limited sample size. As such, there is a clear need for additional cross-cultural research (Mostert et al., 2007;

Pienaar & Sieberhagen, 2005) 4 The deleterious ramifications of student burnout as stated by Neumann et al. (1990) must also be taken into account, and studies are required to examine the consequences of burnout for university students. This is especially pertinent when the general individual and organisational consequences of burnout are considered. For example, at the individual level, burnout is associated with depression, psycho-somatic complaints, fatigue and poor health. At the organisational level, burnout may lead to increased absenteeism and job turnover, decreased productivity and negative attitudes toward the organisation (Maslach et al., 2001; Schaufeli, 2003; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998) As already mentioned, Neumann et al. (1990) and Schaufeli et al (2002) argue that burnout in the student population may reduce academic performance, foster negative attitudes toward the university, and result in feelings of general inefficiency with studies at university. It is

thus important to research burnout in this population group; this however will require a reliable and valid instrument to measure burnout in South African students, highlighting the importance of further studies of the psychometric properties of the MBI-SS. Another emerging area of research in burnout is a focus on the individual factors in burnout. Subsumed under the individual factors is the relationship between personality and burnout (Hochwälder, 2006; Kokkinos, 2007; Maslach, 1993; Shirom, 1989). Burnout was originally conceptualised as a situationally determined phenomenon (Freudenberger & Richelson, 1980; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). However, there is evidence that burnout is related to personality (cf. Piedmont, 1993) Personality has been demonstrated to influence both health related and everyday behaviours, and is also related to an individual’s appraisal of a stressful experience (Booth-Kewley & Vickers, 1994; Brody & Ehrlichman, 1998; Wu & Clark, 2003).

Indeed personality traits are able to account for approximately 10% of the variance in an individual’s behaviour (Burger, 2008). Hochwälder (2006) argues that personality may thus predispose individuals to, or act as a buffer against the development of ill health and burnout. Furthermore, personality constructs may predispose individuals to experience 5 stress, negative affect and influence coping behaviours (DeLongis & Holtzman, 2005; Lee-Baggley, Preece, & DeLongis, 2005; McCrae & Costa, 1986; Pervin & John, 2001; Watson & Clark, 1992). As such, it is possible that personality is able to predict later burnout (cf. Piedmont, 1993) Indeed Bakker, van der Zee, Lewig and Dollard (2006, p. 32) mention that burnout “may differ not only across situations but also across individuals.” Research into burnout has had a proclivity of exploring organisational factors that lead to burnout, at the expense of the examination of the role of personality in an

individual’s experience of job-related distress (Piedmont, 1993). According to Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) approximately 100 studies have been conducted on the relationship between personality characteristics and burnout. However, the majority of these studies have examined factors such as hardiness, locus of control and the type-A behaviour profile (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). This statement is 10 years old, but the author was unable to find any studies mentioning the current situation in regards to the aforementioned statement by Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998). Despite this, Kokkinos (2007) mentions that studies into the relationship between personality and burnout are still limited. The Big Five personality factors appear to represent the main underlying dimensions of personality, and this model is frequently used in the research of personality in the organisational context (McCrae & John, 1992; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998; Storm & Rothmann, 2003). As already

mentioned, personality traits may influence various factors that predispose individuals to burnout, including reactions to stressful experiences and coping behaviours (DeLongis & Holtzman, 2005; Lee-Baggley et al., 2005; McCrae & Costa, 1986; Piedmont, 1993). Several studies have been conducted on the relationship between the Big Five personality factors and burnout (cf. Hills, Francis & Rutledge, 2004; Piedmont, 1993; Storm & Rothmann, 2003). The most consistent findings concerning the relationship between personality and burnout are demonstrated by Neuroticism and Extroversion (Schaufeli & Buunk, 2002). However, there is 6 evidence that all five factors are related to burnout. Although various studies have been conducted on burnout in South Africa (Gauché, 2006; Jordaan, Spangenberg, Watson & Fouché, 2007; Le Roux, 2004; Rothmann & Malan, 2003; Smith, 1998; Willemse, 2006), it appears that few studies have been conducted on the role of personality

traits and burnout in the South African context (cf. Rothmann, 2003; Storm & Rothmann, 2003), highlighting the need for further research into this area. 1.3 Research questions In light of the above discussion, the following research questions were formulated: 1. Is the MBI-SS a valid and reliable instrument for the South African population? 2. What is the relationship between personality traits and burnout in South African university students? 1.4 Definition of key terms 1.41 Stress The concept of stress has multiple meanings (van Dyk, 2005). In literature, stress has been defined in terms of three broad areas. These broad areas are stress as a stimulus, response, or interaction (Brannon & Feist, 2004). Lazarus and Folkman (1984) define stress in terms of an appraisal. According to Lazarus and Folkman (1984), stress is the product of the relationship between the person and the environment, and stress occurs when a person appraises a stressful event as exceeding his or her

coping abilities or threatening his or her well-being. This aforementioned definition is favoured in this research study, as it highlights the 7 manner in which an individual experiences stress in terms of a relationship between the self and the unique environment in which he or she exists. 1.42 Burnout The most widely cited definition of burnout is burnout as “a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals who do ‘people work’ of some kind” (Maslach & Jackson, 1981, p. 99) This definition, according to Schaufeli and Buunk (2002), is a state definition of burnout, as it describes the end process of burnout. Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) conducted an overview of the various proposed definitions of burnout, and provided a working definition of burnout. According to Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998, p. 36) “burnout is a persistent, negative, work-related state of mind in ‘normal individuals’ that is

primarily characterised by exhaustion a sense of reduced effectiveness, decreased motivation, and the development of dysfunctional attitudes and behaviours at work.” The definition of burnout in the student population is concomitant with the definition offered by Maslach and Jackson (1981), in that the three factors of burnout are included. As such, burnout in the student population is defined as a three-factor structure in which exhaustion due to study demands, cynical attitudes toward studies, and feelings of incompetence as a student, occur (Schaufeli et al., 2002) 1.43 Engagement Historically, psychology has been concerned with the study of negative states (Duckworth, Steen & Seligman, 2005; Maslach et al., 2001; Seligman, 2003) This approach has been subject to harsh criticism, particularly with the advent of salutogenic and fortogenic principles (Antonovsky, 1987; Strümpfer, 2003). In light of this paradigm shift, the antithesis of burnout, namely engagement, has 8

received increased research interest (Maslach et al., 2001; Sieberhagen, 2004) Engagement consists of three factors, namely, vigor, dedication and absorption (Schaufeli, Salanova, González-Romá & Bakker, 2002). Engaged individuals tend to demonstrate a high amount of energy and are generally enthusiastic about their job (Bakker, in press). 1.44 Personality The field of personality research is interested in consistent patterns of behaviour, affect and cognition displayed by individuals (Pervin & John, 2001). McAdams (1995) argues that personality is a multi-faceted structure, and can best be understood on three levels. These levels are dispositional traits, personal concerns and the life narrative. According to this view, personality is the product of stable and enduring traits, motivational and developmental constructs related to a specific location and role, and individual identity (McAdams, 1995). 1.45 The five-factor model The five-factor model of personality, also known

as the Big Five, is based on the trait approach to personality (McCrae & Costa, 2006). According to McCrae and Costa (2006), personality can be described in terms of five broad traits which constitute a complete description of an individual’s personality. These five traits are labelled Neuroticism, Extroversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness (McCrae & Costa, 1991; McCrae & Costa, 2006; McCrae & John, 1992). These five personality factors tend to remain moderately stable and enduring throughout adulthood (McCrae & Costa, 1994; McCrae & Costa, 2006). 9 1.46 Student The term student refers to an individual who is participating in studies, often at a higher education institution (Thompson, 1998). These studies cover the range of academic programmes offered by an institution (Schaufeli et al., 2002) In this research, the focus will be on undergraduate and postgraduate students. Undergraduate students are those students who have yet

to complete the full course of a three- or four-year degree, whereas post-graduate students have already completed an undergraduate degree, and are studying toward specialisation in their respective degrees. 1.5 Preview of the contents of the following chapters In Chapter 2, a literature review pertaining to burnout is provided. Accordingly, the literature review focuses on research pertaining to burnout in the organisational and helping professions contexts, as well as both past and present research into burnout. An adapted process model of burnout is also presented Moreover, an examination of the Maslach Burnout Inventory is provided, as well as an examination of stress and burnout in student populations. In Chapter 3, the literature review extends to a discussion of the trait approach to personality, with particular focus on the five-factor model of personality. In addition to this, a discussion of the relationship between the personality traits and burnout is provided. Chapter 4

provides a description of the research design and method utilised in the research. This description includes details of the participants, as well as the statistical methods employed to analyse the obtained data. In Chapter 5, the findings of the data analyses are reported. This is followed by a discussion of the results in Chapter 6, as well as suggestions for future directions 10 and interventions in this area of investigation. The limitations of the study are given, and these are followed by a conclusion. 11 CHAPTER 2 BURNOUT 2.1 Introduction In this chapter, the concept of burnout is discussed. The historical context of burnout is provided, and this is followed by a delineation of the three-factor structure of burnout. The discussion subsequently explores theoretical models applied to burnout, and provides an adapted version of a burnout structural model. Within this model, the antecedents of burnout are discussed, as well as an examination of the consequences of burnout for

the individual and the organisation provided. This is followed by a discussion of stress and burnout in the student population. Due to the limited studies exploring burnout in students, a general discussion of burnout is provided before discussing burnout in students in specific. The literature review presented in this chapter is based on many international studies, and thus caution must be used in generalising the results to the South African population. 2.2 The historical background of burnout The concept of burnout developed in the 1970’s, and emerged as a social problem rather than as an academic construct (Maslach & Schaufeli, 1993; Maslach et al., 2001) The notion of burnout originated in the professional occupations; with the result that academia dismissed burnout as pop psychology and pseudo-science (Maslach & Schaufeli, 1993; Maslach et al., 2001) Despite the relatively modern conceptualisation of the burnout phenomena, many writings pre-dating the 1970’s have

alluded to the idea of burnout (Maslach et al., 2001; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). For example, in the poem The Passionate Pilgrim written by William Shakespeare, the following two lines occur, which are 12 attributed to burnout (Enzmann & Kleiber, 1989, p. 18 cited in Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). “She burnt with love, as straw with fire flameth She burnt out love, as soon as straw out burneth” In 1953, a case study publication described a psychiatric nurse as experiencing depression, disappointment, negative attitudes toward others, exhaustion and disdain toward her clients (Schwartz & Will, 1953 cited in Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). According to Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998), this case study closely resembles the modern conceptualisation of burnout. In addition to this, Greene’s novel, A Burn-Out Case, in 1961 portrays a narrative of a disillusioned and spiritually anguished architect who leaves his job to travel to the jungles

of Africa (Maslach et al., 2001) In this novel, the protagonist is described as morose, cynical and disillusioned, retreating to the African jungle due to his feelings of disenchantment (Greene, 1961; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Thus, it appears that burnout, as an experience, existed before the conceptualisation of burnout as a nomenclature (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). The development of burnout occurred in two stages, namely, the pioneering phase and the empirical phase (Maslach et al., 2001) The pioneering phase is associated with the appearance of scholarly articles by Freudenberger (1974) and Maslach (1976 cited in Maslach et al., 2001), in which the notion of burnout was delineated, and demonstrated to be a common response to the working environment (Maslach et al., 2001; Maslach & Schaufeli, 1993) Freudenberger, a psychiatrist by profession, relates his experience of exhaustion and burnout, after working consistently long hours for several months (Freudenberger &

Richelson, 1980, p. xix): “During the Christmas holiday my wife insisted that we take a vacation with the children, and much as I hated to be away from the 13 clinic, I felt I should go to make up for all the time I had spent away from home. My wife made the hotel and plane reservations All I had to do the night before we left was pack my own clothes, but when I dragged myself through the door at 2 [a.m], I was too exhausted to do anything except fall into bed. I told my wife that I would pack in the morning, but in the morning I couldn’t get up. We never got to the airport. I slept for two solid days and ruined the family vacation” Reflecting on this experience, Freudenberger (Freudenberger & Richelson, 1980) realised that he was experiencing various emotions, including exhaustion, anger, depression and guilt. This incident, and his observations of volunteers at his clinic, led Freudenberger to delineate this experience as burnout (Freudenberger & Richelson, 1980;

Maslach & Schaufeli, 1993). During this period, another researcher, Maslach, who was a social psychology researcher, was examining the means by which individuals cope with the emotional arousal they experience at work. These studies led Maslach to discover that this arousal and the strategies employed to cope with these emotions, impacted on the individual’s identity and organisational behaviour. Describing these findings to an attorney, the attorney mentioned that this phenomenon is described as burnout by poverty lawyers (Maslach & Schaufeli, 1993). In this way, Maslach is cited as the protagonist of the social-psychological conceptualisation of burnout, focusing on the “interpersonal, social and organisational factors” that result in burnout (Schaufeli, 2003, p. 2) This is in contrast to Freudenberger, who conceptualised burnout as a mental disorder, proffering individual charactersitcs such as dysfunctional personality traits and ineffective coping strategies as

causative agents in the development of burnout (Freudenberger & Richelson, 1980; Schaufeli, 2003). Following the first publications of articles discussing burnout, a plethora of writing about burnout occurred, mainly amongst practioners from people-oriented occupations. However, there were three concerns related to these initial writings 14 Firstly, the definition of burnout varied widely from writer to writer. Secondly, the concept of burnout was expanded beyond the original conceptualisation, with almost every personal problem ascribed to burnout. Thirdly, most of these writings were non-empirical, employing the use of qualitative research methods such as interviews and observational studies in understanding the burnout phenomenon (Maslach & Schaufeli, 1993; Maslach & Jackson, 1984 cited in Schaufeli, 2003; Schaufeli, 2003). During the 1980’s, the empirical phase developed, as pragmatic and constructive studies on burnout began. This phase witnessed the formation of

several instruments used to measure burnout, the most notable of these being the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), which was developed by Maslach and Jackson in 1981 (Maslach et al., 2001; Maslach & Jackson, 1981) During this phase, studies, which were originally confined to the human service occupations, began to explore burnout in various occupational and non-occupational areas. Furthermore, various statistical techniques and methodology became available, allowing correlational and self-report studies. In addition to these developments, researchers started to examine the relationship between burnout and individuals’ thoughts and affect over time (Maslach et al., 2001; Maslach & Schaufeli, 1993) During the pioneering and empirical phases, evidence of core underlying dimensions in the burnout phenomena were discovered (Maslach et al., 2001; Maslach & Jackson, 1981). 2.3 The three-factor structure of burnout The term burnout has been defined as a three-factor structure,

consisting of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced professional efficacy (Maslach, Jackson & Leiter, 1996a). Several versions of the MBI have replaced depersonalisation with cynicism, referring to an indifferent and distant attitude toward work. In addition, personal accomplishment has been changed to professional efficacy, allowing a broader focus that encompasses both social and 15 non-social aspects of the work environment. These alterations are fundamentally due to the broadening of the burnout construct beyond the human-service fields (Maslach, 1993; Maslach et al., 1996a; Schaufeli et al, 1996) A complete discussion of the various MBI inventories, as well as their subscales, is provided in section 2.5 Due to the aforementioned factors, this literature review uses depersonalisation and cynicism, and personal accomplishment and professional efficacy interchangeably, each time the focus being on these terms as factors of the burnout construct rather than

implying their literal definition. As previously mentioned, burnout consists of three factors, namely, emotional exhaustion, cynicism and personal accomplishment (Maslach et al., 1996a) Emotional exhaustion describes the individual stress level of burnout, and refers to feelings of being emotionally overextended and having depleted resources. Cynicism/depersonalisation is used to describe the interpersonal component of burnout. Depersonalisation refers to a negative, callous and detached response toward other people, whereas cynicism refers to an indifferent and distant attitude toward work. Reduced personal accomplishment/professional efficacy refers to feelings of incompetency and lack of success and productivity at work (Maslach, 1993; Maslach et al., 2001; Maslach & Jackson, 1996; Schaufeli et al, 1996). Several researchers have argued against the three-factor structure of burnout, suggesting that burnout should rather be conceptualised as a unidimensional construct in which

exhaustion is the central facet (Freudenberger & Richelson, 1980; Maslach, 1993; Shirom, 1989). For example, Shirom (1989) arguing on the concurrent and discriminant validity of burnout, argues that emotional exhaustion is the only unique experience to the burnout phenomenon, and that depersonalisation and personal accomplishment are more likely related to personality. 16 Despite these arguments, Maslach (1993) contends that the research evidence supports the three-factor structure of burnout. For example, Byrne (1993) made use of confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses, and found supporting evidence for the three dimensions of the MBI. Evans and Fischer (1993) tested the three-factor model in the human-service and non-human service fields, and found support for a three-factor structure in the human service sample. However, in the non-human service sample, only a two-factor model was established, in which depersonalisation was not completely found, providing some support

for the unidimensional model of burnout. This finding is of interest, as the MBI was developed for the helping professions, an argument also proposed by Garden (1987) and as such, the question is raised as to the three-factor validity outside of these professions (Garden, 1987; Maslach & Jackson, 1981). However, Evans and Fischer (1993) argue that the finding of a two-factor structure in the non-human service sample should be interpreted with caution, as there are non-human service working environments in which interpersonal contact is important, for example, in the sales occupation. However, Evans and Fischer did not test this hypothesis in their study. Many studies have subsequently demonstrated the three-factor model in a variety of non-human service occupational groups (cf. Bakker et al, 2002; Le Roux, 2004; Leiter & Schaufeli, 1996; Taris, Schreurs & Schaufeli, 1999). In the student population, there is evidence that the three-factor structure exists (Lingard, Yip,

Rowlinson & Kvan, 2007). Pienaar and Sieberhagen (2005) also found support for the threefactor structure in their sample of South African university students, albeit, their sample consisted of student leaders, and thus, the argument by Garden (1987) and Evans and Fischer (1993) can again be raised. Maslach (1993) argues against the use of a unidimensional model of burnout. According to Maslach (1993), removing depersonalisation and personal accomplishment eliminates the aspects of the relationship with others, and relationship with self, which are fundamental to the burnout experience. Maslach 17 (1993) further argues that the multidimensional view is not opposed to the unitary view, but that it rather adds to this view. In addition, methodological flaws may account for the dominance of emotional exhaustion in burnout research. According to Maslach (1993), emotional exhaustion tends to be predominant in the theorising around burnout, and therefore, studies tend to focus

exclusively on this factor, resulting in the demonstration of a significant relationship with burnout. However, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment tend to be only studied as an afterthought, resulting in the perceived unimportance of these two factors in the definition of burnout. In addition, if emotional exhaustion is solely used in the conceptualisation of burnout, and as such, becomes a synonym for stress, burnout research has only replicated what is already known, i.e stress under the pretext of a new label of burnout Thus, limiting burnout to a unidimensional model of exhaustion will result in the reduction of burnout to experienced stress (Maslach, 1993). Leiter (1993) concurs, stating that conceptual clarity of the burnout construct will be lost if the unidimensional model is used. Recently Salanova et al. (2005) argued that burnout should be conceptualised as a four-dimensional model. According to Salanova et al. (2005), the depersonalisation scale and

cynicism scale should both be factors in burnout. In their study, sampling teachers and blue collar workers, the authors found that depersonalisation and cynicism are two separate concepts, and is this way, cynicism and depersonalisation each contribute to burnout. Further studies are required to verify or refute this notion (Salanova et al., 2005) In addition to this argument, the reduced professional efficacy factor has also come under review (Bresó et al., 2007; Schaufeli & Salanova, 2007) According to Bresó et al. (2007) and Salanova and Schaufeli (2007), the positively framed efficacy scale of the MBI should rather be conceptualised as a negatively formulated inefficacy scale. Schaufeli and Salanova (2007, p 178) contend that “[t]he role of lack of efficacy in the burnout syndrome is rather 18 peculiar, both from a conceptual and empirical point of view.” The authors argue that exhaustion and depersonalisation are the core symptoms of burnout, and that professional

efficacy appears to be related to engagement (Bresó et al., 2007; Salanova & Schaufeli, 2007; Schaufeli et al., 2002) In this way, Bresó et al. (2007) and Salanova and Schaufeli (2007) contend that professional inefficacy demonstrates a better fit with the burnout conceptualisation, and that this scale is better able to capture the actual meaning of burnout. 2.4 The development of the burnout dimensions over time Closely associated to the argument over the multidimensional and unidimensional model of burnout, is the development of burnout over time. Several models have been suggested to explain the development of the three core dimensions of burnout (Leiter, 1993; Shirom 1989). In this section, three central arguments are presented. Leiter and Maslach (1988) argue that emotional exhaustion is the first response to emotional stressors arising from the work environment. The emotional exhaustion subsequently leads to depersonalisation as the individual attempts to cope with

these feelings by emotionally distancing him- or herself from service recipients. Due to depersonalisation, the individual may evaluate him- or herself less positively, and begin to experience reduced success at work, resulting in reduced professional efficacy. In this way, emotional exhaustion is argued only to lead to reduced personal accomplishment if depersonalisation is also evident (Leiter & Maslach, 1988). In contrast to this view, is Golembiewski and Munzenrider’s (1988) phase model, in which depersonalisation is argued to lead to diminished personal accomplishment and subsequently emotional exhaustion. As such, the authors argue that depersonalisation occurs first, resulting in limited ability to complete work goals, leading to a reduced sense of personal efficacy at work. This results 19 in a sense of limited success at work, leading to emotional exhaustion (Golembiewski & Munzenrider, 1988). Leiter (1989) critiques this view of burnout, arguing there is limited

empirical evidence available to support the phase approach, and that this approach reduces burnout to a unidimensional model of emotional exhaustion. Leiter (1993) proposes a developmental model to explain the relationship between the MBI subscales. According to this model, demanding aspects of the environment, such as workload and personal conflict, intensify experiences of exhaustion. This, in turn, leads to increased depersonalisation Personal accomplishment, however, is the product of resources, such as social support. In this way, the model postulates that emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment develop parallel to one another, as they are each a factor of different aspects of the work environment (Leiter, 1993). This model is similar to the job demands-resources model (JD-R; Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner & Schaufeli, 2001), which is discussed in section 2.71 2.5 The Maslach Burnout Inventories The literature review has progressed from a definition of the three

factors of burnout, to providing three models of the development of burnout over time. In this section, an exploration of the various MBI inventories is provided to enhance the readers understanding of the MBI inventories for the remainder of the literature review. Although other measures exist to measure burnout, such as the Burnout Measure (Pines & Aronson, 1988) and the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (Demerouti & Bakker, in press), this research is concerned with the MBI (Maslach et al., 1996a) For this reason, only the MBI inventories are discussed Four versions of the MBI have been developed; the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Service Survey (MBI-HSS; Maslach & Jackson, 1996), the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Educators Survey (MBI-ES; Maslach, Jackson & Schwab, 20 1996b), the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS; Schaufeli et al., 1996), and the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Survey (MBI-SS; Schaufeli et al., 2002) The MBI-HSS was developed in

response to burnout in the human service fields and health care settings (Maslach et al., 2001; Maslach & Jackson, 1981). Maslach and Jackson (1996) contend that the human service occupations are generally client-orientated, in which a great quantity of time is allocated toward client contact. This contact is often focused on problems experienced by the client. The solution to these problems, if such a solution exists, may not be apparent, resulting in frustration. The consequent stressors in these environments may lead to burnout (Maslach & Jackson, 1996). The subscale measures of the MBI-HSS are emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment (Maslach et al., 2001; Maslach & Jackson, 1996). The educational field is similarly fraught with augmented levels of client contact (Maslach et al., 2001; Maslach et al, 1996b; Schaufeli, 2003) Maslach et al (1996b) contend that in recent years, the education profession has experienced changing roles.

Educators are required to become more than teachers, solving social problems and facilitating ethical and moral development in their students. These factors have resulted in increased work pressure, and consequently, many educators have left the teaching profession or developed burnout (Maslach et al., 1996b). In light of this, the MBI-ES was developed Analogous to the MBI-HSS, the MBI-ES subscale measures are emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment (Maslach et al., 2001; Maslach et al, 1996b; Maslach & Jackson, 1996). The MBI-GS was developed in response to two concerns with the available MBI instruments. Firstly, research has demonstrated that burnout extends beyond the human service fields (Demerouti et al., 2001; Maslach et al, 2001) Secondly, the MBI-HSS and MBI-ES could only be administered to their target population groups, with population groups outside of the human service and educational 21 context compromising the psychometric

properties of these instruments (Evans & Fischer, 1993; Schaufeli, 2003). The fundamental difference between the MBIGS and the two aforementioned versions of the MBI is that the MBI-GS does not focus on the service relationship, but rather on performance in the work context (Schaufeli, 2003; Schaufeli et al., 1996) The three subscales of the MBI-GS are exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy (Schaufeli et al., 1996) More recently, Schaufeli et al. (2002) developed the Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survey, which is a modified version of the MBI-GS In this version, items that refer to the work context have been adjusted to correspond with the academic context. For example, terms such as work were rephrased as study This instrument was developed in response to the notion that burnout extends to the student population (cf. Neumann et al, 1990) The three subscales of the MBI-SS are emotional exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy (Schaufeli et al., 2002) Recently a

professional inefficacy scale was added to the MBI-SS (Bresó et al., 2007; Schaufeli & Salanova, 2007) A thorough discussion of the MBI-SS, used as the research instrument in this study, is provided in Chapter 4. 2.6 Theories and models of burnout A myriad of theories have been postulated as explanations of burnout. However, a single global theory of burnout does not exist. Rather, burnout has been hypothesised as resulting from four distinct levels, each of which comprises several theoretical approaches (Schaufeli, 2003). Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) provide an overview of the various models that apply to burnout. A concern with the development of the models however is that “[i]nitially, most theorising [about burnout] was rather speculative and eclectic, borrowing concepts from various psychological theories” (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998, p. 101) Despite this concern, modern researchers are attempting to understand the phenomenon of burnout. However, “a comprehensive

theoretical framework for burnout is still lacking” (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998, p. 101) 22 Four approaches to burnout exist, namely, the individual approach, interpersonal approach, organisational approach and societal approach (Schaufeli, 2003; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). In this section, an overview, as presented by Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998; Schaufeli & Buunk, 2002), is briefly expounded upon to assist the reader in conceptualising the burnout construct. The individual approach focuses on factors and processes found within the person, and makes use of a variety of psychological theories such as the psychodynamic theory and learning theory. However, these approaches are generally not empirically supported (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). According to Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998), models that are postulated under this approach include burnout as a failure to retain one’s idealised self-image (Freudenberger & Richelson, 1980), burnout as progressive

disillusionment (Edelwich & Brodsky, 1980), burnout as a pattern of wrong expectations (Meier, 1983), burnout as a disturbed action pattern (Burisch, 1993; 1989 cited in Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998), burnout as a loss of resources (Hobfall & Freedy, 1993; Hobfall & Shirom, 1993), burnout as a narcissistic disorder (Fischer, 1983), burnout as an imbalance between conscious and unconscious functions (Garden, 1991 cited in Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998) and burnout as an existential quest (Pines, 1993). According to Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998, p. 113): “Virtually all individual approaches emphasise that a strong conscious or unconscious motivation (to help), including highly valued goals, expectations, and aspirations, is a necessary condition for the emergence of burnout. Furthermore, these approaches assume that these individual psychological characteristics often do not match the professional’s experiences on the job. So a mismatch between intentions and reality

exists. As a result of this poor fit, job stress occurs that may eventually lead to burnout when inadequate coping strategies are adopted and/or when the appropriate individual or organisational coping resources are lacking.” 23 The interpersonal approach examines interactions in the workplace to ascertain their relevance in the development of burnout. However, as with the individual approach, empirical evidence does not completely support these models (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). According to Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) the models postulated under the interpersonal approach include burnout as a lack of social competence (Harrison, 1983), burnout as emotional overload (Maslach, 1993), burnout as a lack of reciprocity (Buunk & Schaufeli, 1993), burnout as an emotional contagion (Rountree, 1984 cited in Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998) and burnout as an emotional labour (Hochschild, 1983). According to Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998, p. 127): “Some interpersonal approaches

describe burnout as a result of lacking social competence or as a sequential multifaceted reaction to emotional overload. Other approaches try to explain the development of burnout by pointing to underlying psychological processes such as social exchange (i.e lack of reciprocity), emotional contagion, or emotional labour. In contrast to most individual approaches, interpersonal approaches are, at least partly, supported by empirical evidence.” The organisational approach consists of three models (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). The three approaches, according to Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) are burnout as a reality shock (Cherniss, 1980a; 1980b), burnout as a virulent process (Golembiewski & Munzenrider, 1988) and burnout as a mismatch between person and job (Maslach & Leiter, 1997). Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998, p. 135) state: “Despite large differences the three approaches agree that similar organisational factors (e.g qualitative and quantitative job demands, lack of

autonomy or control, lack of rewards, incongruent institutional goals or values, and lack of social support or community) are 24 important correlates of burnout. Moreover, they point to the fact that burnout has not only negative effects for the individual but that it is also detrimental for the organisation in terms of lowered productivity and efficiency, and poor quality of service.” The societal approach conceptualises burnout as a broader societal concern that extends beyond the individual and organisational factors. Thus, burnout is viewed in relation to the societal and cultural level (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). According to Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998), the three models that make up this approach include burnout as alienation (Karger, 1981), burnout as a discrepancy between surface and latent functions of organisation (Handy, 1988), and burnout as a cultural product (Meyerson, 1994). Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998, p 139) write: “Societal approaches to burnout highlight

the role of objective structural and cultural determinants that exist irrespective of the individuals’ subjective interpretation of reality. Another common feature is their transactional or dialectical nature; workers are not considered to be passive victims but are active agents who, individually and collectively, shape their own working and living conditions that may or may not contribute to burnout.” Three recent models that have conceptualised burnout include the job demandsresources model (JD-R; Demerouti et al., 2001), the comprehensive burnout and engagement model (COBE; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004), which is an extension of the JD-R model and incorporates engagement, health impairment and organisational withdrawal and the areas of work life model (Leiter & Maslach, 2004; Leiter & Schaughnessy, in press). The areas of worklife model derives from a summary of research on the aetiology of burnout (Maslach & Leiter, 1997 cited in Leiter & Schaughnessy, in

press). The six areas are workload, control, reward, community, fairness and values. The model argues that burnout and 25 engagement exist at opposite poles to each other on a continuum of energy, involvement and efficacy (Leiter & Maslach, 2004; Leiter & Schaughnessy, in press). The author will not provide a full account of the areas of worklife model or the COBE model as engagement is not an essential component of this research dissertation. The subsequent section discusses an adapted form of the process model of burnout, as conceptualised by Maslach et al. (1996a) The JD-R model is discussed under the process model of burnout. 2.7 The structural model of burnout The structural model presented by Maslach et al. (1996a) consists of three aspects, being lack of resources and job demands as leading to burnout, with subsequent costs for the individual. The model presented in this section is an adapted version of this model. This adapted burnout model (see Figure 21), referred

to here forth as the adapted model, similarly consists of an integration of three aspects, namely, the JD-R model, individual factors resulting in burnout, and the subsequent individual and organisational costs of burnout. This adapted model is considered pertinent to the study, as it provides an account of organisational and individual factors related to burnout, as well as providing an exploration of the consequences of burnout for the individual and organisation. The structural model as forwarded by Maslach et al. (1996a) does not provide an account of individual factors such as biographical and personality factors as antecedents of burnout. However, research has unequivocally provided evidence of the importance of individual factors in burnout (cf. Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998; Maslach et al., 2001), and as such, the exclusion of this element by Maslach et al. (1996a) may retract from a complete account of the burnout process Many individual factors may be subsumed under the JD-R

model. However, for the purpose of this dissertation, individual factors are removed from the JD-R model, and placed into a separate concept, namely, the individual factors in burnout. Thus, the model as presented in this dissertation provides an overview of the 26 organisational factors (incorporated into the JD-R model) and personal factors (individual factors) that serve as antecedents to burnout, in order to enhance the conceptual clarity of burnout for the reader. Job DemandsResources Individual Characteristics Emotional Exhaustion Depersonalisation Professional Efficacy Costs Individual Organisational Figure 2.1 The adapted process model of burnout From The Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual (p. 36), by C Maslach, SE Jackson & MP Leiter (1996) Palo Alto, CA. Consulting Psychologists Press 2.71 The job demands-resources model The JD-R model divides the working environment into two separate categories, each of which is related to a specific outcome (Demerouti, Bakker,

Nachreiner & Schaufeli, 2000; Demerouti et al., 2001) These two categories are job demands 27 and job resources (Demerouti et al., 2001) Job demands are defined as “those physical, social, or organisational aspects of the job that require sustained physical or mental effort and are therefore associated with certain physiological and psychological costs” (Demerouti et al., 2001, p 501) Job demands consist of various facets, including physical workload, time pressure, contact with clients, the physical environment and shift work, with various other demands existing (Demerouti et al., 2001) Job demands result in strain and stress, as postulated by Karasek’s (1979) job demand-control model (Demerouti et al., 2001) The theory underlying both the JD-R model and the job demand-control model proposes that burnout is a product of excessive job demands coupled with diminished job resources (Rothmann & Joubert, 2007). However, unlike the job demand-control model, which suggests

that job demands and decision latitude (job control) are able to predict mental strain, the JD-R model suggests that various characteristics beyond workload demands and decision latitude cause stress and burnout. Thus, the JD-R model is favoured in this literature review, as it provides new insights into the working conditions that lead to burnout and because it can be applied to various contexts (Demerouti et al., 2000; Karasek, 1979; Lewig, Xanthopoulou, Bakker, Dollard & Metzer, 2007; Llorens, Bakker, Schaufeli & Salanova, 2006). Job resources are defined as “those physical, psychological, social, or organisational aspects of the job that may do any of the following: (a) be functional in achieving work goals; (b) reduce job demands at the associated physiological and psychological costs; (c) stimulate personal growth and development” (Demerouti et al., 2001, p 501) According to Bakker and Demerouti (2006) and Xanthopoulou, Bakker, Demerouti and Schaufeli (2007), these

job resources are similar to the conservation of resources model (COR; Hobfall & Freedy, 1993). The COR model proposes that individuals are motivated to obtain and maintain resources. Thus, when circumstances in the organisation prevent the attainment of resources, stress ensues. In this way, work stress 28 occurs when an individual’s resources are threatened, lost, or when an investment of resources fails to produce an anticipated level of return in resources (Hobfall & Freedy, 1993). Job resources are thus deemed important in their own right, and as a means of achieving other valued resources (Bakker & Demerouti, 2006). Job resources are located at various levels in the organisation, including the way in which the work is organised, the level of interpersonal and social relationships, and the task level (Bakker & Demerouti, 2006). According to the JD-R model, burnout is a two-phase process (Demerouti et al., 2001). Job demands function as a health impairment

process, in which chronic job demands result in the depletion of emotional and physical resources, and consequently exhaustion (Bakker & Demerouti, 2006; Demerouti et al., 2000; Demerouti et al., 2001; Leiter, 1993) Job resources are motivational in nature, as it encourages employee growth, learning and development (Bakker & Demerouti, 2006; Bakker, Demerouti & Schaufeli, 2003). According to this model, this first phase occurs when excessive work demands overtax an individual, resulting in a depletion of energy and subsequent exhaustion. The second phase arises when limited job resources prevent the achievement of job demands, resulting in withdrawal from work and subsequent disengagement (Demerouti et al., 2001) Thus, the JD-R model proposes that job demands are positively related to exhaustion, and job resources are negatively related to disengagement (Demerouti et al., 2000; Demerouti et al, 2001) In the subsequent section, various job demands and job resources will be

presented. Conceptual links between these demands and resources, and students’ phenomenological experience are presented in section 2.8 2.711 Job demands Many studies have provided evidence that job demands are related to augmented experiences of stress and burnout (cf. Agius, Blenkin, Deary, Zealley 29 & Wood, 1996; Karasek, 1979; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Karasek’s (1979, p 287) job demand-control model suggests that “psychological strain results not from a single aspect of the work environment, but from the joint effects of the demands of a work situation and the range of decision-making freedom (discretion) available to the worker facing those demands.” Workload, a quantitative component of job demands, has been the topic of many studies (cf. Deary, Blenkin, Agius, Endler, Zealley & Wood, 1996; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Quantitative job demands refer to as having an excessive workload that must be completed in a limited amount of time (Maslach et al.,

2001) Research has established that workload is associated with increased stress, mental strain and burnout (Agius et al. 1996; Arsenault, Dolan & van Ameringen, 1991; Deary et al., 1996; Embriaco, Azoulay et al, 2007; Lindholm, 2006) Michie and Williams (2003), conducting a review of the literature of work related psychological ill health, found that work demands, such as long hours of working, augmented workload and job pressure, are associated with psychological ill health. These findings are in accordance with the job demand-control model (Karasek, 1979; Michie & Williams, 2003). Santavirta et al (2007) made use of the job-demand control model (Karasek, 1979) and found that augmented job demands, coupled with reduced job control, was related to burnout in their sample of educators in Finland. In addition to these findings, there is evidence that heavy workload and time pressure is related to emotional exhaustion (Maslach et al., 2001; Rothmann & Joubert, 2007) Studies

conducted in South Africa (Jackson, Rothmann & van de Vijver, 2006; Pienaar & Sieberhagen, 2005; Rothmann & Essenko, 2007; Rothmann & Joubert, 2007) support these findings, establishing that workload, including the amount of work that has to be completed and the pace of the workload, is positively related to emotional exhaustion. Qualitative job demands, including role conflict and role ambiguity, demonstrate a relationship with burnout. Role conflict is the product of conflicting demands at work. Role ambiguity refers to a lack of sufficient information to perform a job competently (Maslach et al., 2001) It appears that role conflict may 30 lead to a conflict in goals and behaviours, whereas role ambiguity may prevent the development of relevant goals (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Cherniss (1980b) argues that occupations with high levels of role conflict and ambiguity, and low levels of autonomy and variety, are likely to result in stress and burnout. Shift-work

has similarly been shown to have a relationship with burnout, in addition to be related to health risks, reducing the quality of relationships in the family, and increasing fatigue (Davis, Crouter & McHale, 2006; Demerouti, Geurts, Bakker & Euwema, 2004; Ellingsen, Bener & Gehani, 2007; Jansen, van Amelsvoort, Kristensen, van den Brandt & Kant, 2003). There is evidence that shift work affects the individual’s physiological, psychological and social wellbeing (Fenwick & Tausig, 2001). In addition, shift-work has been related to reduced job commitment and satisfaction, increased work-home conflict, and augmented exhaustion, cynicism and absenteeism (Demerouti et al., 2004; Koustelios, 2001). 2.712 Job resources Job resources, which have only recently started receiving research attention, have been demonstrated to have an important relationship with well-being at work (Maslach et al., 2001; Demerouti et al, 2001) The job resources that have been subject to most

studies are social support and supervisor support (Maslach et al., 2001) Support from a supervisor, and the relationship an employee has with a supervisor, appears to reduce the influence of strain resulting from job demands (Bakker & Demerouti, 2006). For example, Mena (2000) found that the relationship between a supervisor and employee is related to increased job satisfaction. Moreover, the study demonstrated that there is a negative relationship between perceived support from a supervisor and burnout (Mena, 2000). Leiter and Maslach (1988) found that disagreeable contact with supervisors is positively related to emotional exhaustion. In addition, organisational commitment, role conflict, job satisfaction, augmented stress, and 31 burnout may result from unpleasant supervisor contact (Behson, 2005; Leiter & Maslach, 1988; Schirmer & Lopez, 2001). Leiter and Maslach (1988) argue that social support received from a supervisor can be differentiated from social

support received from colleagues. Social support from colleagues typically consists of friendship, assistance and comfort (Maslach & Leiter, 1988). Several studies have demonstrated the importance of social support in coping with stress and reducing burnout (cf. Maslach & Leiter, 1988). Social support has been variously defined (Brannon & Feist, 2004) Brannon and Feist (2004) define social support as the material and emotional support that an individual receives from others. Social support can be divided into two broad categories, namely, structural and functional social support. Structural social support is concerned with an individual’s network of social relationships, whereas functional social support is related to the quality of these relationships with others (Cohen & Wills, 1985; Davison, Neale & Kring, 2004). AbuAlRub (2004), sampling nurses, found that the perception of social support received from colleagues reduced experiences of stress. Similarly,

Viswesvaren, Sanchez and Fisher (1999) demonstrated that social support reduced feelings of job strain and the intensity of stressors. Allen, McManus and Russel (1999) explored the role of peer mentoring in job strain. The study found that employees who received peer mentoring reported improved work relationships with other employees at the workplace, allowing these employees to experience enhanced connectedness to others. In addition, individuals who received peer mentoring claimed that the mentors assisted them in coping with work-induced stress (Allen et al., 1999) Social support has also been found to reduce experiences of burnout. For example, Boyle, Grap, Younger and Thornby (1991), making use of the Staff Burnout Scale for Health Professionals (Jones, 1982b cited in Boyle et al., 1991) and the House and Wells Social Support Scale (House, 1981) on a sample of nurses, found that social support received from work and non-work sources were significantly related to burnout. However,

social support received 32 from work accounted for a better predictor of burnout than did non-work sources of social support. Similarly, Halbesleben and Buckley (2006), making use of the MBI with a sample of Roman Catholic priests and working adults, found that social support from colleagues was able to predict later emotional exhaustion and cynicism. Other job resources, such as organisational support, opportunities for growth and advancement, and job information and control, are related to burnout (Jackson et al., 2006; Maslach et al, 2001) There is evidence that limited job feedback may increase experiences of burnout, and that individuals who have limited decisionmaking opportunities may have an increased susceptibility to burnout. Reduced job autonomy is similarly related to increased experiences of burnout (Maslach, et al., 2001) Bakker, Demerouti and Euwema (2005) argue that feedback from work may reduce work-home interference (the inter-role conflict in which pressures from

work conflict with family life), worry, and emotional exhaustion. 2.713 Research evidence for the job demands-resources model Numerous studies have examined, and provided support for the JD-R model (cf. Bakker & Demerouti, 2006; Xanthopoulou et al., 2007) Bakker et al (2003), sampling workers in call centres, found that job demands produce a depletion of energy and leads to increased health problems and absenteeism. Moreover, the study found evidence for a positive relationship between job resources and improved health (Bakker et al., 2003) Lewig et al (2007), sampling ambulance officer volunteers in Australia, similarly demonstrated that job demands have a deleterious consequence on health. In addition, Lewig et al (2007) demonstrated that job demands are related to burnout, and job resources are related to connectedness. In this study, work-home interference was related to the JD-R model, with volunteers experiencing interference in their home life from voluntary duty been more

likely to develop burnout. Conversely, support and a sense of 33 autonomy from the work environment increased the volunteer’s willingness to remain at work (Lewig et al., 2007) Jansen, Peeters, de Jonge, Houkes and Tummers (2004) also found a relationship between job demands and resources, and work-home interference. In this study, job demands were found to disrupt work-home balance. Thus, individuals who experience increased job demands may have less time to manage home affairs, and limited leisure time, resulting in exhaustion. Jansen et al. (2004) further demonstrated that there is an association between job demands and social support, and that social support is related to job satisfaction and reduced emotional exhaustion. Demerouti et al (2000) likewise found that access to job resources, such as feedback, task variety and social support is able to predict later disengagement in a sample of nurses. Bakker, Demerouti and Verbeke (2004) found that job demands were able to

predict in-role job performance (those activities required to perform the job), and that job resources were able to predict extra-role performance (those activities that augment the collective nature of the organisation). Increased job demands were found to have a negative relationship with in-role job performance, whereas job resources were positively related to extra-role performance (Bakker et al., 2004). Bakker et al (2004) also demonstrated that job resources are negatively related to exhaustion, therefore, reduced job resources may lead to exhaustion. However, the authors found that job resources did not act as a buffer between job demands and exhaustion (Bakker et al., 2004) This finding was in contrast to Bakker et al. (2005) who found that job resources such as autonomy, social support from colleagues and ones supervisor, and feedback, buffered the impact of work overload on exhaustion. Thus, high demands were not necessarily found to result in burnout if job resources were in

place (Bakker et al., 2005) Studies have provided evidence for the applicability of the JD-R model to the South African population. Jackson et al (2006), sampling educators in the NorthWest Province, found that both job demands and resources are related to 34 burnout. Rothmann and Essenko (2007) similarly established that the JD-R model held up for staff members at a higher education institution in the NorthWest Province. Rothmann and Joubert (2007) also provide evidence for the JD-R model in the South African population. In their sample of management-level employees at a platinum mine in the North-West Province, Rothmann and Joubert (2007) found that job demands and job resources are related to burnout. Bakker and Demerouti (2006, p. 12), providing an overview of the JD-R model, argue that empirical evidence supports the JD-R model and write: “When both job demands and resources are high, we expect employees to develop strain and motivation while when both are low we expect the

absence of strain and motivation. Consequently, the high demands-low resources condition should result in high strain and low motivation while the low demands-high resources condition should have as a consequence low strain and high motivation.” The structural model as postulated by Maslach et al. (1996a) conceptualises burnout as a product of lack of resources and increased job demands. In this model, job demands refer to work overload and personal conflict, whereas lack of resources refers to diminished control coping, social support, autonomy, and decision involvement (Maslach et al., 1996a) The JD-R model is thus able to capture elements of both these aspects, and provide a clear model of job demands and job resources that result in burnout. Although students are not in the organisational environment, many experiences at university may be similar to this environment; these include increased workload, time pressures, lack of support from faculty staff, and negative social

relationships (cf. Cushman & West, 2006; Pienaar & Sieberhagen, 2005). A full exposition of factors related to stress in students is provided in section 2.8 35 2.72 Individual factors Individual factors have been postulated as important in the development of burnout. Kokkinos (2007) argues that burnout is the product of organisationalenvironmental factors, and personal factors Maslach et al (2001) contend that each person has unique factors that interact with the environment in the development of burnout. These factors include personality characteristics, workattitudes, coping styles and demographic factors Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) classify individual charactersitcs, including personality factors and biographical aspects, as important components of burnout. Cherniss (1980b, p 127) aptly writes, “[a]n analysis of burnout would be incomplete if these individual factors were not considered.” For these reasons, individual characteristics are considered important factors

in the development of burnout. In this section, various individual factors that are related to burnout are discussed. These factors include demographic factors, personality and coping styles. Various other factors can be considered under individual factors that are related to burnout. In order to provide a succinct overview of individual factors related to burnout the literature review desists from providing an in-depth exploration of every individual factor. 2.721 Demographic factors Age appears to demonstrate an important role in the development of burnout. Overall, the evidence suggests that younger employees may experience burnout more often than older employees do (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). For example, Bilge (2006), Tomic, Tomic and Evers (2004) and Kilfedder, Power and Wells (2001) found that younger employees tend to experience greater levels of burnout than do middle-aged employees. More specifically, it appears that younger employees are more likely to experience

depersonalisation than older employees are (Kilfedder et al., 2001) Bakker et al (2002), conducting an internet based study, demonstrated that across several occupational groups burnout tends to occur amongst younger staff members. These findings highlight 36 an area of concern for students, as students are generally young and inexperienced, especially when entering the working world. However, Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) caution that survival bias must be taken into account. According to Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998), survival bias may result in individuals who generally have reduced experiences of burnout remaining at work, whereas those individuals who tend to experience augmented levels of burnout leaving work at an early age. Thus, survival bias may distort the results obtained from studies (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Gender has demonstrated a consistent relationship with burnout. Most studies suggest that women score higher on emotional exhaustion and men higher on

depersonalisation (Bakker et al., 2002; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998) This finding was demonstrated by Maslach and Jackson (1981) and Bilge (2006). Lindsfors et al. (2006), in their sample of anaesthetists, also demonstrated that women experience augmented levels of emotional exhaustion; however, this finding was not statistically significant. Despite studies supporting these findings, there is evidence that these findings may not necessarily hold true. For example, Bekker, Croon and Bressers (2005), sampling nurses, found that men experience greater levels of emotional exhaustion than women do. However, this result may have been affected by the adjacent findings that the men in their sample also tended to report significantly more work hours. Tomic et al (2004), sampling ministers, found that gender did not contribute to burnout. The contradictory findings relating to gender may be explained by sex-role differences (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). For example, Bilge (2006) argues

that women are more likely to make use of social support and vent their concerns than are men. Greenglass and Burke (1988) concur, stating that seeking social support is congruent with the traditional feminine gender role prescription. For men, burnout may be confined to work, whereas for women, burnout may be related to the dual role of work and family (Greenglass & Burke, 1988). In the work context, women may also have to prove themselves more so than do men, 37 resulting in increased effort by women. This in turn may lead to the development of burnout (Bakker et al., 2002) Thus, the evidence appears to suggest that gender may be related to the experience of burnout; however, more studies are needed to clarify the relationship. 2.722 Personality factors Personality factors have been attributed to burnout. Personality factors that have been researched include a hardy personality, locus of control, type-A behaviour, and the Big Five model of personality (Boyle et al., 1991;

Deary, Watson & Hogston, 2003; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). This section discusses studies exploring the aforementioned factors. However, the Big Five personality factors are not discussed here, but rather presented in Chapter 3. This allows the reader to first form a clear understanding of personality traits, thus allowing for a more comprehensible understanding of the relationship between the Big Five factors and burnout. Hardiness as a personality trait, which is characterised by involvement in activities, openness to change, and a feeling of control over events, has been found to demonstrate a relationship with all three factors of the burnout construct (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). For example, Boyle et al (1991) found that hardiness is negatively related to burnout. Hardiness was also found to demonstrate a negative relationship to emotion-focused coping and be positively related to social support. Locus of control, defined as an individual’s expectancy of events, is

divided into an internal and external locus of control (Pervin & John, 2001). Individuals with an external locus of control attribute events to factors outside of themselves, such as luck or chance, whereas those individuals with an internal locus of control will ascribe events to their own ability and effort (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). There is evidence that individuals who have an external locus of control tend to experience greater levels of exhaustion and depersonalisation and reduced experiences of personal accomplishment 38 (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Locus of control has also been associated with job stressors (Spector & Oconnell, 1994). The Type-A personality, characterised by competitiveness, control and a time-pressured life style, appears to demonstrate a positive relationship with burnout (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) caution against results obtained from studies exploring the relationship between personality and burnout,

as a correlation does not necessarily imply causality. For example, a certain personality trait or type may influence which occupational situation an individual will find himself or herself in, with this situational factor increasing the probability of experiencing burnout (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). The aforementioned argument is taken into account in the data collection procedure, and will be elaborated on in Chapter 4. 2.723 Coping styles Coping styles, as an antecedent of burnout, has also received attention in various empirical studies (cf. Boyle et al, 1991) There are many forms of coping used by an individual. Two broad coping strategies are problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping. In problem focused coping an individual attempts to solve or alter the situation. Emotion-focused coping however involves emotional distancing, escape avoidance coping, or making use of social support (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Pervin & John, 2001). There are many forms of

emotion-focused coping, and these include selective attention, distancing, minimisation, positive comparisons and avoidance, amongst others. Emotion-focused coping is aimed at reducing emotional stress. Problem-focused coping is akin to problem solving, and is directed toward finding optimal solutions to a problem, and acting upon those solutions (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). The research suggests that control coping is able to reduce the negative consequences of a stressful environment, whereas avoidance coping is related 39 to negative consequences from stress (Koeske, Kirk & Koeske, 1993). In relation to burnout, Boyle et al. (1991) found that problem-focused coping is not related to burnout, whereas emotion-focused coping has a positive relationship with burnout. Of the coping styles used, wishful thinking and distancing were positively related with burnout, and emphasising the positive was negatively related to burnout (Boyle et al., 1991) Patton and Goddard (2006)

demonstrated that escape-avoidance coping was positively related to emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation for both men and women, and that planful problem solving coping was related to personal accomplishment for men. Tully (2004) explored stress and coping in psychiatric nursing students. In this study, students with higher levels of stress made use of coping strategies such as wishful thinking, substance use, smoking and comfort eating. Students with lower levels of stress were found to make use of problem-focused coping mechanisms, including seeking assistance from others, seeking others’ advice, and altering the environment to improve the situation (Tully, 2004). Deary et al (2003) similarly examined coping and burnout in nursing students, and found that emotionfocused coping is related to emotional exhaustion. 2.73 Summary of organisational and individual factors leading to burnout An overview of the literature on burnout by Cordes and Dougherty (1993) provides a succinct

summary of the factors that are associated with burnout. According to Cordes and Dougherty (1993), workload is related to emotional exhaustion. Depersonalisation is a product of rigid, controlling and impersonal working environments, in which there is limited participation in or involvement in decision making. Reduced professional efficacy is related to environments in which there is role ambiguity, unmet expectations, and lack of rewards for performance. Schaufeli (2003) argues that burnout is related to perceived workload, role problems and a lack of support. At the individual level, burnout is related to younger people who have high levels of expectations from their job. In addition, these individuals tend to be highly involved with the job, and consider 40 their job central in their life (Cordes & Dougherty, 1993). Coping styles and personality factors are also pertinent to an understanding of burnout. 2.74 The costs of burnout Burnout has been associated with various costs

for the organisation and the individual. Cordes and Dougherty (1993, p 539) state that burnout has “real physical, emotional, interpersonal, attitudinal, and behavioral implications.” However, despite this statement, there are limited studies exploring the costs of burnout for the individual and organisation (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). In this section, the individual and organisational consequences of burnout are discussed. 2.741 The individual level At the individual level, burnout has been shown to demonstrate a relationship with physiological infections, psychosomatic complaints, health problems, depression, and substance abuse, amongst others (Schaufeli, 2003). Depression appears to be closely related to burnout, and it is the most extensively studied factor in relation to the individual level consequences of burnout (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) conducted a review of the literature on the relationship between depression and burnout. In this

review, emotional exhaustion was found to be the strongest factor related to depression, explaining approximately 12-38% variance in depression. Depersonalisation explained approximately 2-29% variance, and personal accomplishment approximately 3-20% variance. As such, there is evidence that depression demonstrates a positive relationship with burnout (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). McKnight and Glass (1995) argue that burnout is not a work-related form of depression; however, both burnout and depression may share a similar aetiology. Thus, it appears that depression and burnout develop in tandem, and 41 that depression cannot be viewed as solely a cause or a consequence of burnout (McKnight & Glass, 1995; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Freudenberger (Freudenberger & Richelson, 1980) argues that depression may or may not be linked to burnout. General depression is described as prolonged and pervading all aspects of a person’s existence, whereas in burnout, depression is

specific and localised. In addition, whereas a person with depression may experience guilt, a person with burnout will experience anger (Freudenberger & Richelson, 1980). Thus, it appears that depression and burnout can be separated into two distinct categories, and that burnout is not merely a form of depression. Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) provide several explanations for the significant relationship between depression and burnout. Of particular importance to this study is their argument around the personality trait of Neuroticism. According to Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998, p. 87), “[N]euroticism, being a fundamental personality trait, may underlie depression as well as emotional exhaustion”, as Neuroticism is related to both emotional exhaustion and depression. As such, the personality trait of Neuroticism may account for a common factor to both burnout and depression (Bakker et al., 2006; McCrae & John, 1992; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). According to Schaufeli and

Enzmann (1998), there is evidence that a positive relationship exists between psychosomatic complaints and burnout. There is also evidence that the emotional exhaustion component of burnout is related to an increased probability of sickness (Firth & Britton, 1989). For example, Kilfedder et al. (2001) found that higher scores on emotional exhaustion are related to physical and psychological symptoms. Bakker et al (2003) also found that job demands are related to health problems. Increased use of substances has been shown to have a relationship with burnout. However, despite this relationship, few studies have examined this relationship (Ahola et al., 2006; Cunradi, Greiner, Ragland & Fisher, 2003; 42 Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Individuals who experience greater levels of burnout may be at an increased risk for alcohol related dependence (Cunradi et al., 2003) Ahola et al (2006) found that burnout and alcohol dependence are related, with this relationship persisting even

after socio-demographic factors were removed. However, a statistically significant relationship between alcohol and burnout was not established. In this study (Ahola et al, 2006), no gender differences were found in relation to the association between alcohol and burnout. Cunradi et al (2003) however report that women may be at a reduced risk for substance use, even when experiencing high levels of burnout. Cunradi et al. (2003) also found that younger adults tend to have a greater level of risk for alcohol dependence from burnout than older adults. Thus, it appears that individuals experiencing high levels of burnout may resort to the use of substances, such as drinking and smoking, to deal with their negative affect (Maslach & Jackson, 1982). Freudenberger (Freudenberger & Richelson, 1980) argues that individuals who experience burnout may be prone to the use of illegal substances. According to Freudenberger, individuals who are high achievers may experience a triumph, but

this is followed by periods of deep melancholia. During this period, the individual may experience sadness, separation and emptiness. Thus, there is a constant elevation and depression of mood. In order to reproduce the elevated mood brought on by triumph and success, an individual may make use of stimulants, or, to forget the experience, make use of depressants (Freudenberger & Richleson, 1980). Burnout may also affect the individual’s relationship with his or her family. For example, Maslach and Jackson (1982) examined the role of job related stress on families in police officers. According to Maslach and Jackson (1982), 27% of the variance in the quality of family life was attributed to experienced burnout. The authors found that police officers who report higher levels of stress and burnout may tend to come home from work with negative emotions such as anger and 43 anxiety, and that these factors may reduce the amount of time that the police officer spends with the family

(Maslach & Jackson, 1982). Burnout does however have further deleterious consequences for the individual. For example, research has demonstrated that burnout is able to affect cognitive performance and attention (cf. Sandström, Rhodin, Lundberg, Ollson & Nyberg, 2005; van der Linden, Keijsers, Eling & van Schaijk, 2005; ). In addition, burnout may also impact on creativity (cf. Berg, Hansson & Hallberg, 2008; Eckert, Stacey & Wiley, 1999). Both cognitive performance and creativity can be considered pertinent factors related to academic success, and thus burnout may negatively affect academic performance at the tertiary education level. 2.742 Organisational aspects At the organisational level, there is evidence that burnout impacts on an individual’s attitude toward the organisation, resulting in dissatisfaction with the job, intentions to quit, and poor organisational commitment (Schaufeli, 2003). Burnout has also been assumed to result in reduced job

performance (Parker & Kullik, 1995). For example, Parker and Kullik (1995) found that a lower level of emotional exhaustion is related to improved job performance. Likewise, Wright and Bonett (1997) demonstrated that emotional exhaustion is able to predict work performance, with no significant relationship existing between depersonalisation and personal accomplishment, and job performance. However, Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) argue that the evidence of burnout affecting performance is not convincing, and that burnout does not necessarily reduce performance. Another aspect related to burnout is increased absenteeism (Bakker et al., 2003) Parker and Kullik (1995) found that high levels of burnout were related to absenteeism. Similarly, Firth and Britton (1989) demonstrated that emotional exhaustion is related to increased absenteeism. Thus, it appears that burnout may result in mental or physical health problems, which lead to absenteeism from the job (Parker & Kullik,

1995; van Dick & Wagner, 2001). 44 A meta-analysis conducted by Lee and Ashforth (1996) found that emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation are related to organisational commitment and intentions to leave one’s job. Firth and Britton (1989) similarly found that depersonalisation is related to job turnover. Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) reanalysed the findings by Lee and Ashforth (1996) and found a negative relationship between emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment, and job satisfaction. The three burnout factors were also found to be negatively related to organisational commitment, and positively related to intentions to quit. Organisational commitment has been consistently shown to demonstrate a negative relationship with emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Lingard et al. (2007) found support for these aforementioned factors in the student population. For example, the authors found that increased

absenteeism affects students’ feelings of professional efficacy. Furthermore, it was found that students experiencing higher levels of burnout tended to be less satisfied with the university (Lingard et al., 2007) Sced and Baur (2007), sampling student police recruits, found that students who experience burnout are more likely not to be satisfied with their work, or to leave the job later in their career. Thus, Neumann et al. (1990) may be correct in their assertion that student burnout affects the student’s relationship with the university. 2.8 Stress and burnout in students The concept of burnout has expanded beyond the helping professions, with studies establishing that the student population is also susceptible to burnout (Mostert et al., 2007; Neumann et al, 1990; Schaufeli et al, 2002; Weckwerth & Flynn, 2006). Burnout in student populations has been conceptualised as an erosion of academic engagement, and is experienced as feelings of exhaustion due to study demands,

cynicism and detachment from one’s studies, and 45 feelings of worthlessness or inefficacy in the academic realm (Schaufeli et al., 2002). The university years may be a period of stress for many students (Pines et al., 1981). Studies conducted on students’ experiences of stress and burnout has found that various factors are associated with these concepts in this population group (cf. Ross, Cleland & Macleod, 2006; Dyrbye, Thomas & Schanafelt, 2005; Negga, Applewhite & Livingstone, 2007; Sced & Baur, 2007). These factors include the formation of new friendships, and loss of existing friendships; increased academic workload; academic pressures; adjustment to a novel study climate; financial concerns; competition with peers; boredom; romantic relationships; administrative problems; and difficulties with time management (Cushman & West, 2006; Dyrbye et al., 2005; Dyrbye et al, 2006; Moffat et al, 2004; Pines et al., 1981; Weckwerth & Flynn, 2006) Cushman and

West (2006, p. 23), succinctly highlight the factors relating to students’ stress, stating: “[e]ach day, students are confronted with experiences that can be physically, emotionally, and psychologically challenging. Whether related to one’s classroom performance, family, job, health, finances, or other people, all aspects of students’ lives can be negatively affected by events both within and outside their control.” Academic pressure and concerns has been established as a significant source of stress for students (Moffat et al., 2004; Monk & Mahmood, 1999) For example, Monk and Mahmood (1999) found that difficulties with course content, limited study time and other commitments infringing upon studies were a major source of concern for students. Similar findings were discovered by Abouserie (1994), with students in this study citing augmented workload, excessive study demands and pressure to excel in their studies causing stress. An example of these academic demands is

highlighted in Cushman and West’s (2006, p. 25) study, with participants stating, “I had so many assignments, projects, and 46 presentations all due at once” and furthermore “[i]t was the overwhelming deadlines and number of important immediate decisions to be made.” Conversely, Jacobs and Dodd (2003) found that objective workload and the amount of hours a student works are not consistently related to burnout. Lingard et al. (2007), in their sample of undergraduate students in Australia, similarly found no relationship between burnout and workload. Rather, burnout was related to the conflict between paid work and university work, and as such there was a role conflict. For example, reduced performance in university work due to a commitment to paid work (or vice versa), leads to conflict and subsequent experiences of burnout. Despite the view of objective workload in the formation of burnout, it can be argued that subjective experiences of workload also lead to burnout.

Jacobs and Dodd (2003), for example, found that the subjective experience of workload is related to emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Thus, according to Jacobs and Dodd (2003), it appears that subjective experiences of workload account for experiences of burnout rather than actual workload. Increased amounts of objective workload may however lead to augmented hours spent studying. Lingard et al (2007) found evidence for this notion, with greater hours spent studying demonstrating a positive relationship with emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment. Jacobs and Dodd (2003) also found some evidence for increased experiences of emotional exhaustion with augmented hours of work, although this relationship was not statistically significant. Taken together, the aforementioned findings may be similar to the job demands aspect of the JD-R model, with excessive demands resulting in burnout. More specifically, students’ experiences at university may include excessive

workload, time pressures, long hours of work (especially during the examination periods), role conflict and role ambiguity, with all of these factors been related to burnout. 47 Abouserie (1994) demonstrated that social-related stressors, such as financial concerns and diminished time for social contact, influence students’ experience of stress. Friedlander, Reid, Shupak and Cribbie (2007) also found that social support accounted for some variance in students’ experience of stress. Lingard et al. (2007) demonstrated that students in Hong Kong who had social support from friends and family had reduced experiences of burnout. Jacobs and Dodd (2003) similarly demonstrated that reduced levels of social support received from friends is related to increased scores on depersonalisation and reduced scores on personal accomplishment. Social support may also extend to romantic relationships, with Willcock et al. (2004) demonstrating that medical students who were not in a relationship

were more likely to experience emotional exhaustion. This provides further evidence for the important role of social support in mediating burnout. These findings are similar to findings as discussed under job resources, highlighting the beneficial effects of social support on burnout. As such, it appears that students who experience limited social support or social contact may be at an augmented risk for developing burnout. Similar to findings highlighting the importance of convivial contact with supervisors and reduced burnout, relationships with academic staff may also lead to burnout. Academic staff attitude and behaviour has been related to increased stress among students. Academic staff, such as lecturers, may be viewed as inhuman, expectant and egotistical, augmenting students’ experience of stress (Cushman & west, 2006). For example, Cushman and West (2006), conducting a qualitative study on precursors to college student burnout, found that at times, students feel

overwhelmed due to instructors that are vague, unavailable or condescending. These factors may cause students to develop a negative attitude toward the academic setting (Cushman & West, 2006). This negative attitude toward the academic setting may be similar to the reduced experience of organisational commitment seen in the organisational context. In addition, it would be important to examine as to whether job turnover in the 48 organisational context is similar to dropping out of university in the student context. Concerns about finances are also related to stress in student populations. In a study conducted by Ross et al. (2006) on medical students, numerous participants mentioned that stress concerning their financial status accounted for up to a quarter of their total stress experienced. In addition, several participants believed that financial stress negatively affected their studies. The study supported these contentions, with students worrying about their finances

performing more poorly in examinations than their peers (Ross et al., 2006) Despite the relative importance of finances and social contact, Abouserie (1994) contends that academic concerns account for a greater degree of students’ experience of stress. With the reality of student loans and the increasing price of university education, financial concerns may be a pertinent factor in the South African context (cf. SAPA, 2008) Apart from academic difficulties, financial concerns, and academic staff demeanour, various other factors are related to the experience of stress in students (Cushman & West, 2006). These factors include family problems, limited time to interact with the family, death of a family member, low grades, missing of classes and procrastination, amongst others (Abouserie 1994; Bernhard, 2007; Cushman & West, 2006; Negga et al., 2007) Another factor that has received attention is demographic factors (Ried et al., 2006) For example, Ried et al. (2006) established

that students in their second year of study were more prone to experiences of burnout. However, this finding may be related to the nature of their sample that consisted of pharmacy students (Ried et al., 2006). Bernhard (2007), sampling music major students, established that postgraduate students experience lower levels of emotional exhaustion and increased experiences of personal accomplishment in comparison to undergraduate 49 students. It appears that limited research has been conducted on the relationship between year of study and burnout in the student population, thus limiting the discussion of this factor in the literature review. Gender differences have also been found to be related to burnout in students. Weckwerth and Flynn (2006) found that women students demonstrated lower scores on personal accomplishment than men students, however, male students scored higher on the depersonalisation scale than did female students. Similarly, Ried et al (2006) found that women

students were more likely to report emotional exhaustion, and men students were more likely to report depersonalisation. Kulik (2006), researching burnout among volunteers in the social services, demonstrated that during adolescence, the degree of burnout is greater for girls than for boys. A gradual decline occurs hereafter, with burnout levels been equal among retired women and men volunteers. Balogun, Pellegrini, Miller and Katz (1999) measured the burnout of 21 physical therapist students during an academic year. It appears from the study that the students’ emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation increased throughout the semester, and the personal accomplishment score decreased throughout the semester. These findings in relation to demographic factors appear to be similar to the findings discussed in section 2.72 under the individual factors Thus, it appears that people who are younger are more prone to burnout, and that women students are more likely to experience emotional

exhaustion, and men students are more likely to experience depersonalisation. Studies conducted in South Africa have provided support for the abovementioned findings (Mostert et al., 2007; Pienaar & Sieberhagen, 2005) Pienaar and Sieberhagen (2005), sampling student leaders at the University of the NorthWest, found that factors such as stress, negative work relationships, time pressure, work overload and conflicts are associated with burnout. The authors established that emotional exhaustion was related to work overload and a dearth of available time to complete this work, cynicism demonstrated a relationship to workplace demands, and professional efficacy was associated with lack of 50 available resources (Pienaar & Sieberhagen, 2005). However, the sample population in this study group (Pienaar & Sieberhagen, 2005) were student leaders, and consequently, the question is raised as to whether the burnout findings in this student population group is related to academic

factors, or workrelated factors. Mostert et al. (2007) found that Afrikaans speaking students experience greater levels of burnout than Setswana speaking students. They ascribe this finding to the current employment situation in South Africa (affirmative action), arguing that Afrikaans speaking students may perceive themselves as less likely to find employment, and as such, experience augmented levels of burnout. There appears to be support for this notion. For example, Lingard et al (2007) found that there may be a relationship between fear of unemployment (which is similar to job insecurity) and burnout in student populations. Thus, the perception of possible unemployment after the completion of higher education studies could be an antecedent of burnout in the student population. Table 21 provides an overview of factors related to stress and burnout in students from several of the aforementioned studies. Table 2.1 Summary of Research Findings on Factors Related to Stress and Burnout

in Students Author Factors related to stress and burnout Abouserie (1994)  Examinations and results  Workload  Study load Balogun & Pellegrini  Academic semester (1999) Bernhard (2007)  Year of study Cushman and West  Assignment overload (2006)  Outside influences (including financial difficulties, management concerns, personal relationships) 51 time  Lack of personal motivation  Mental and physical health concerns  Instructor demeanour Jacobs and Dodd  Subjective workload (2003)  Temperament  Social support  Extracurricular activities Lingard et al. (2007)  Amount of study time  Conflicting demands within studies  Satisfaction with the economic situation  Economic factors  Study time  Work to university conflict Negga et al. (2007)  Academics  Low grades  Missed classes  Time management  Relationship difficulties Ried et al. (2006)  Year of study  Gender Ross et al.

(2006)  Perception of debt  Coursework Weckwerth and  Social support Flynn (2006)  Gender Willcock et al. (2004)  Relationship status 2.9 Conclusion Research on burnout has progressively increased since its conceptualisation in the 1970’s by Freudenberger and Maslach. The most common conceptualisation of burnout is burnout as a three-factor structure. However, there are arguments against this conceptualisation, with a unidimensional and a four-dimensional 52 model being proposed. Various theories have attempted to account for the experience of burnout, albeit, many have not received empirical support. A recent model, the job demands-resources model, has received empirical support. This model suggests that demands are related to exhaustion and resources are related to engagement. Various factors are cited as antecedents to burnout, including work overload, role conflict, role ambiguity, personality charactersitcs, gender, age and coping behaviours, amongst

others. Burnout has deleterious consequences for both the individual and the organisation, including depression, absenteeism, job turnover, and negative attitudes toward the work context. The notion that burnout can also occur in students has recently been studied. Research has demonstrated that various factors are related to stress in students, including perceived workload, academic staff demeanour, financial concerns, social support, family factors, role conflict, and time management, amongst others. Similar to burnout in the organisational context, burnout in students may have deleterious consequences for both the student and the university. 2.10 Preview of the contents of the following chapter In the following chapter personality, and in particular the trait approach to personality, is discussed. 53 CHAPTER 3 THE FIVE-FACTOR MODEL OF PERSONALITY 3.1 Introduction In this chapter, the trait approach to personality is discussed. This is explored from both the historical and modern

perspectives of trait approaches. The discussion includes an examination of the progenitors to the trait approach, and later theorists such as Allport, Eysenck, and Cattell. This is followed by a description of the five-factor model of personality, and critiques of this model. The chapter concludes with a discussion of personality traits and their relationship to burnout. The literature review presented in this chapter is based on many international studies, and thus caution must be used in generalising the results to the South African population. 3.2 The trait approach to personality “Behaviour is a mirror in which everyone shows his image” (Ajzen, 2005, p. 1) This statement by the celebrated polymath Goethe captures an important element of personality - the trait approach to personality (Ajzen, 2005). It is common practice in personality discourse to describe people in terms of observed behaviour. Labels such as outgoing, shy, nervous, friendly, and warm are relatively easy to

discern and understand (Maddi, 1996; Matthews, Deary & Whiteman, 2003). Buss (1989) argues that traits are the defining characteristics of personality. However, it is clear that personality is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, and one has only to examine a personality textbook to obtain a glimpse of the many theories that account for personality (Maddi, 1996). Amongst the first and most well known theories of personality was Freud’s conception of the sexual urges (Freud, 1912; Friedman & Shustack, 2003; 54 Mroczek & Little, 2006). Following Freud’s death, a plethora of personality theories emerged, including those of Sullivan, Horney, Jung, Bandura, Murray, Allport and Cattell (Ehrenreich, 1997; Mroczek & Little, 2006). Various other views of personality exist. By examining the diverse approaches to personality, McAdams (1995) conceptualised personality as consisting of three levels. The first level, and the level with which this research is concerned, is

described as dispositional traits (McAdams, 1995; Taylor, 2004). These traits, which are broad and nonconditional constructs, describe personality in terms of dispositions. The second level, personal concerns, is interested in life-tasks, coping strategies, and motivational and developmental constructs related to a specific location and role. The third level, the life narrative, consists of frameworks and constructs that give an individual an identity (McAdams, 1995). As explicated, the trait approach (and five-factor model in specific) is related to McAdams’s (1995) level of dispositional traits (Taylor, 2004). Traits refer to the observable behaviours in an individual that are often used to describe a person (Pervin & John, 2001). For example, Dickens (nd, p 28) describing Alfred the Great writes, “[h]e loved to talk with clever men, and with travellers from foreign countries, and to write down what they told him, for his people to read.” Dickens goes on to state that

Alfred the Great “made just laws, that they might live more happily and freely; he turned away all partial judges, that no wrong might be done them.” These behavioural descriptions captured what was consistently observed in Alfred the Great, and it is this consistency that is the first fundamental assumption of the trait approach to personality. Indeed one would expect Alfred the Great to be the same today as he was hundreds of years ago (Matthews et al., 2003; Pervin & John, 2001) The second assumption is that traits are established on comparisons of people, as “there are no absolute quantitative standards for concepts such as friendliness” (Cavanaugh & Blanchard-Fields, 2006, p. 344; Costa & McCrae, 1998) The third assumption is that traits must be 55 clearly conceptualised in order to avoid the misinterpretation of a specific trait (Cavanaugh & Blanchard-Fields, 2006; Costa & McCrae, 1998). McCrae (2005) mentions four characteristics associated with

traits. According to McCrae (2005) traits must be seen as a dimension of individual differences, tendencies rather than determinants, consistent over a period of time, and expressed in thoughts, feelings and actions. In examining the three assumptions and four characteristics as described by McCrae (2005), a trait can be defined as “a disposition to behave in a particular way, as expressed in a person’s behaviour over a range of situations” (Pervin & John, 2001, p. 251) 3.3 Historical developments of the trait approach The idea of personality traits is found in antiquity. Aristotle, Theophrastus and Hippocrates are cited as progenitors to the trait approach of personality (Allport, 1937; Matthews et al., 2003) Aristotle, the renowned Greek philosopher and student of Plato, is celebrated for his arguments on moral conduct. Aristotle argued that moral behaviour is the product of dispositions. This argument is thoroughly explored in his theory of the Golden Mean (Aristotle,

n.d/nd; Hergenhahn, 2005; Matthews et al., 2003) Following on the teaching of Aristotle, Theophrastus created character sketches, describing how a person is expected to act in most situations. The character descriptions were viewed as consistent across both time and place (Allport, 1961). Centuries later, Hippocrates, who was regarded as the father of medicine due to his expertise in diagnoses and treatment of disease, described bodily humours as causative agents in pathology (Hergenhahn, 2005; Hippocrates, n.d/1952; Stelmack & Stalkis, 1991). Hippocrates argued that the human body contained four humours: phlegm, blood, yellow bile and black bile (Allport, 1937; Friedman & Schustack, 2003; Hergenhahn, 2005). Galen, expanding on Hippocrates’s work, emphasised the relationship between the humours and character. According to Galen, there were four temperaments, each of which contained 56 corresponding characteristics (Galen, n.d/1952; Hergenhahn, 2005; Matthews et al., 2003)

However, Stelmack and Stalkis (1991, pp 259-260) caution that Galen’s humours “were not uniquely employed to describe character.” Phlegm was associated with a phlegmatic temperament. The typical characteristic of this temperament was lethargic and unemotional behaviour. Blood was related to a sanguine temperament, in which the individual tended to be optimistic, positive and cheerful. Yellow bile was associated with a choleric temperament, in which the individual was described as quick-tempered and fiery. The last humour, black bile, was linked to a melancholic temperament, and characterised by sadness and negative affect. According to Galen, the best temperament was the product of balance in these humours, with imbalance resulting in physical and mental illness (Hergenhan, 2005; Matthews et al., 2003; Stelmack & Stalkis, 1991). Burton (1837, p. 140 cited in Matthews et al, 2003, pp 8 - 9), in the seventeenth century, described the melancholic temperament as: “That

which is a flea-biting to one causeth unsufferable torment to another; and which one by his singular moderation and wellcomposed carriage can happily overcome, a second is no whit able to sustain; but, upon every small occasion of misconceived abuse, injury, grief, disgrace, loss, cross, rumour etc. (if solitary, or idle) yields so far to passion, that his complexion is altered, his digestion hindred, his sleep gone, his spirits obscured, and his heart heavy, his hypocondries misaffected; wind, crudity, on a sudden overtake him, and he himself overcomes with melancholy.” According to Matthews et al. (2003), this description bears resemblance with the modern day personality trait of Neuroticism. 57 Kant, making use of the humoural theory, placed the four humour temperaments on two dimensions, which he labelled feeling and activity (Hergenhan, 2005; Matthews et al., 2003) Many years later, Wundt (1893, 1902/1904) depicted the four temperaments as lying on two dimensions, which he

named “strong-weak emotions versus changeable-unchangeable activity” (Hergenhan, 2005; Matthews et al., 2003, p 9) The views of Kant and Wundt are cited as resembling the present-day traits of Neuroticism and Extroversion (Eysenck, 1960; Guyer, 2006; Stelmack & Stalkis, 1991). In the 19th century, Sir Francis Galton argued that differences in personality could be described by means of language. By employing the use of the lexical approach, Galton undertook a thorough examination of Roget’s Thesaurus, searching for terms describing an individual’s character (Galton, 1884 cited in Allport & Odbert, 1936; Matthews et al., 2003) The lexical approach assumes that that language terms used to describe individual differences exist in all languages (Goldberg, 1990). However, at this time, complex statitistical techniques used to analyse data, such as factor analysis and correlation methods, did not exist. With the advent of these methods, and the influence of Allport,

Eysenck and Cattell, the modern conceptualisations of the trait approach flourished (Matthews et al., 2003) 3.31 Gordon Allport Allport, with his interest in language and aversion to psychoanalysis, has contributed greatly to the study of personality (Pervin & John, 2001). Two particular anecdotes are linked to Allport’s career. In the first instance, as a child, Allport was accused by his classmates of “swallowing a dictionary” (Allport, 1966, p. 161) This penchant for language would later have a significant role in his approach to personality (Allport, 1966; Friedman & Schustack, 2003). In the second instance, as a young adult, Allport reports a meeting with Freud. In this meeting, Allport narrated a story to Freud of a young boy who had a particular 58 phobia of dirt. Freud replied with a single question, “and was that little boy you?” (Pervin & John, 2001, p. 227) This experience led Allport to believe that examining the surface-level aspects of personality

had more value and merit than an in-depth probe into the unconscious (Friedman & Schustack, 2003; Rosenzweig & Fisher, 1997). Allport (1937, p. 48) defined personality as “the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.” Underlying this definition was Allport’s belief in internal structures (traits) and neuropsychic structures (personal dispositions), which together produce human behaviour (Allport, 1937, 1966). This belief led Allport to argue that traits are the core aspects of personality, and that they exist in the nervous system (Allport, 1937). Allport distinguished between three dispositions, namely, the cardinal, central and secondary dispositions. Cardinal dispositions were argued to be pervasive and all encompassing, influencing the entirety of the individual’s existence. However, people do not generally possess these cardinal dispositions. Central dispositions express the

situation specific aspects of personality. Secondary dispositions referred to the individual, specific, and inconsistent aspects of personality (Pervin & John, 2001). Allport thus argued for the plasticity of traits, contending that both the biologically determined traits, and the situational demands, influence behaviour (Allport, 1937). As previously mentioned, Allport’s penchant for language was instrumental in the development of his approach to personality (Allport, 1966; Friedman & Schustack, 2003). Allport and his colleague, Odbert (Allport & Odbert, 1936) compiled a list of adjectives commonly used to distinguish between individual behaviour. This list was exhaustive, covering 17 953 terms used in describing distinct behaviours (Allport & Odbert, 1936). Having collected these terms, Allport proceeded to “determine whether a basis can be found for a psychologically 59 significant classification of the terms” (Allport, 1937 p. 306; Allport & Odbert,

1936). To achieve this, Allport and Odbert (1936) created four parallel columns, each of which described a fundamental aspect of personality. The first column consisted of the “‘real’ traits of personality” (Allport & Odbert, 1936, p. 26), describing stable and consistent aspects of behaviour The second column consisted of “present activity, temporary states of mind, and mood” (Allport & Odbert, 1936, p. 26) The third column consisted of evaluations of character. The fourth and final column consisted of terms that did not fit into the previous columns, and was subdivided to include physical qualities, explanations of behaviour, and explanations of capacities and talents (Allport & Odbert, 1936). Many of these words were synonyms, leading Allport to argue that this list required abridgment. This monumental task was accomplished by Cattell (Friedman & Shustack, 2003). 3.32 Raymond Cattell Cattell initially pursued science in college, changing to psychology

later in his studies. As part of his studies at the University of London, Cattell learned Spearman’s factor analytic technique. This technique was instrumental to his research on personality (Cloninger, 2000). Cattell’s position on personality is described as a structured learning, and systems based approach (Cattell, 1980; Ryckman, 1993). This approach examined transactions occurring between personality and the environment (Ryckman, 1993). Cattell attempted to account for individual differences in personality by simplifying and objectifying the composition of personality. In order to achieve this, he made use of mathematical and statistical techniques, wading through a plethora of words and terms used to describe personality (Cattell, 1980; Eysenck, 1994; Friedman & Schustack, 2003). 60 In a similar fashion to Allport, Cattell argued that language could account for individual differences in personality (Eysenck, 1994). Based on this notion, Cattell re-examined the list of

terms formulated by Allport and Odbert (1936; Eysenck, 1994). Cattell (1943 cited in Taylor, 2004) grouped together synonyms and antonyms from Allport and Odbert’s (1936) list, creating 160 bipolar categories, to which he added interests and abilities, resulting in 171 clusters. Cattell (1943 cited in Taylor, 2004) proceeded to conduct cluster analysis on these traits, which produced 67 trait variables. Subsequent research by Cattell (1945; 1947 cited in Taylor, 2004) reduced the 67 clusters into 12 factors, which later led to the development of the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16-PF; Cattell, Eber & Tatsuoka, 1970). Cattell made an important distinction between surface traits and source traits. Surface traits refer to those behaviours that appear to be related, but fail to function as a unitary whole. As such, no common underlying causes to these traits are found. Source traits however, form a unitary dimension, and are the fundamental aspects of personality. Cattell

argued that source traits could only be captured by means of statistical techniques (Pervin & John, 2001). To determine the source traits, Cattell made use of three sources of data: Q-data, Tdata and L-data. Q-data was obtained from self-report measures T-data was ascertained by observations of individuals in controlled conditions. L-data was attained from life-records (Friedman & Schustack, 2003; Pervin & John, 2001). Cattell believed that the L, Q and T data would produce similar personality traits (Eysenck, 1994). Cattell is commended for his attempt at providing an exhaustive theory of personality (Eysenck, 1994). However, his theory has been subject to criticism Cattell’s reliance on factor analytic studies, limited validity of the measurements he employed, and overestimation of his findings have led researchers to question the validity of his findings (Pervin & John, 2001). In addition to these critiques, Eysenck (1994) contends that Cattell’s theory provides

an erroneous explanation 61 of traits, and furthermore, Cattell failed to explain the features of personality traits. 3.33 Hans Eysenck Eysenck, a firm proponent of the scientific study of personality, and harsh critic of psychoanalysis, proposed that biological foundations should be found that could explain the existence of traits (Eysenck, 1960; Pervin & John, 2001). Eysenck placed great value on scientific pursuits, and conceptual clarity (Pervin & John, 2001). Quoting Kant, Eysenck stated that “[e]xperiment without theory is blind; theory without experiment is lame” (Eysenck, 1960, p. 1) This value of scientific pursuits led Eysenck to search for the biological underpinnings of each trait, hereby allowing a theory open to testing and disproof (Eysenck, 1960; Pervin & John, 2001). Eysenck’s model of personality consisted of three basic dimensions: introversion-extroversion, neuroticism (emotional stability-instability), and psychoticism (normal-psychotic

continuum) (Eysenck, 1960; Pervin & John, 2001). These three dimensions are considered super-factors, each of which consists of unique traits, such as those identified by Cattell (Eysenck, 1960; Eysenck, 1994). Eysenck proposed biological underpinnings for the personality traits (Buss, 1990; Eysenck, 1991; Larsen & Buss, 2002). Eysenck (1967 cited in Buss, 1990) argued that introverts demonstrate augmented physiological reactivity to sensory stimulation, thus accounting for the introvert’s avoidance of stimulation in social behaviour. In addition, Eysenck argued that individuals who are more introverted tended to have augmented cortical arousal. Neuroticism was argued to result from the autonomic nervous system, and activity in the visceral brain (Eysenck, 1967 cited in Eysenck, 1994). Buss (1990) states that although Eysenck’s explication encouraged research into the biological basis of traits, his theory of general arousal is incorrect 62 Eysenck’s theory has come

under critique (cf. Buss, 1990) Pervin and John (2001) contend that Eysenck was inclined to disregard results that were contrary to his own, while simultaneously over estimating findings in accord with his nomenclature. In addition, Eysenck’s notion of three dimensions in personality is considered to be unable to capture individual differences in personality (Pervin & John, 2001). Eysenck’s three-factor structure is related to the five-factor model of personality, with Extroversion and Neuroticism forming fundamental dimensions of this model. However, the five-factor model, which is subsequently discussed, has received various labels and conceptualisations. Moreover, despite the pioneering work conducted by Allport, Cattell and Eysenck, the trait approach became unpopular in later years (McAdams, 1992; Pervin, 1994). In the next section the five-factor model of personality is discussed. 3.4 The five-factor model of personality The five-factor model of personality is best

understood as a lexical and factor analytically derived personality approach (Haslam, 2007; Mischel, 1993; see Wiggins & Trapnell, 1997 for an overview of the five-factor model). McCrae and Costa (1991, p. 367) argue that the five-factor model provides a “comprehensive taxonomy of personality traits.” However, as already mentioned, this model has not always been viewed as noteworthy (McAdams, 1992; Pervin, 1994). Historically, the trait approach to personality was in a state of disfavour among personality researchers (McAdams, 1992; Pervin, 1994). Jackson and Paunonen (1980, p. 523) compared trait-theorists to witches of antiquity, stating, “[l]ike witches of 300 years ago, there is confidence about their existence, and even possibly their sinister properties, although one is hard pressed to find one in the flesh or even meet someone who has.” This disfavour was of such a nature that to be regarded as a trait theorist was to be “forever disgraced in the eyes of history”

(McAdams, 1992, p. 330) Zuroff (1986) argues that the disillusionment with the trait approach to psychology is attributed to Mischel’s publication of 63 Personality and Assessment in 1968. Mischel’s critiques of the trait approach are presented in section 3.55 Despite the unpopularity with the trait approach to personality, this theory has reemerged as a major force in personality research (McAdams, 1992; McCrea & Costa, 1991). Contributors to the development of this model are Fiske (1971; 1946 cited in Digman, 1990), Tupes and Christal (1961/1992), Norman (1963 cited in McCrae & John, 1992), Digman (1989; 1990), Goldberg (1990), and McCrea and Costa (1991; 2006). Fiske is cited as the progenitor of the five-factor model of personality. Fiske (1949 cited in Digman, 1990, p. 419) made use of 21 bipolar scales identified by Cattell, and was unable “to find evidence for anything more complex than a fivefactor solution.” Tupes and Christal (1961/1992) argued that it is

difficult to compare the factors derived by Fiske and Cattell, as Fiske’s variables are closely matched to Cattell’s. Tupes and Christal (1961/1992) thus undertook a study to isolate traits that are evident in various samples and that are not affected by situation and rating conditions. Making use of Cattell’s trait variables “[e]ight intercorrelation matrices were factored and rotated to approximate [the] simple structure” found in personality traits (Tupes & Christal, 1961/1992, p. 227) Tupes and Christal (1961/1992) established that the five factors are minimally affected by rating and situational differences. These five factors were labelled as Surgency, Agreeableness, Dependability, Emotional Stability and Culture (Tupes & Christal, 1961/1992). The study conducted by Tupes and Christal (1961/1992) was published in an Air Force technical report. As a result, the findings remained relatively unknown to researchers (Digman, 1990). Norman, however, was aware of this

research (Digman, 1990). Norman (1967 cited in Taylor, 2004) conducted a study on university students, in which 2 800 trait terms were reduced to 1 431 terms, which he further categorised into 75 groups. Norman (1963 cited in McCrae & 64 John, 1992) named the five factors Extroversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability and Culture. Block (1995) argues that Norman provided further empirical support for the five factors in personality. Goldberg (1990) examined the 2 800 trait terms of Norman (1967 cited in Goldberg, 1990) in three studies. Based on these studies, Goldberg (1990) argued that analyses of adjective trait terms in the English language would produce a five-factor structure. McCrae and Costa have conducted a vast amount of research on the five-factor model, including cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs (Cavanaugh & Blanchard-Fields, 2006). McCrae and Costa (2006) contend that the five-factor model includes the multitude of

traits found in language and scientific theory. Thus, this model allows for a systematic approach to personality. This approach to personality began with factor analysis of the 16-PF (Liebert & Liebert, 1998; McCrae & Costa, 2006; Taylor, 2004). McCrae and Costa (2006) proceeded to examine the various factor solutions, and settled on a three-factor model, which consisted of Neuroticism, Extroversion and Openness to Experience. However, after creating the NEO Personality Inventory, McCrae and Costa (2006) noticed that numerous traits were not accounted for in their taxonomy. Examining existing research conducted on traits, two more dimensions were added to their model, namely, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness (Liebert & Liebert, 1998; McCrae & Costa, 2006). McCrae and Costa (1987) argue that the five-factor model is found in self-reports, among and between peer ratings and in questionnaires, and this provides evidence for the usefulness of this taxonomy. 3.5 Research

findings and critiques of the five-factor model The five-factor model has become popular in recent years, due to this model’s comprehensiveness and replicabilty across methods. However, various critiques are levelled against this taxonomy (Saucier, 2002). In this section, some of these critiques are discussed. 65 3.51 Heritability and biological basis Eysenck argued for a heritable and biological basis to traits (Eysenck, 1967 cited in Buss, 1990; Larsen & Buss, 2002). Evidence has been found for this genetic basis in personality (cf. Loehlin, McCrae, Costa & John, 1998; Loehlin, Neiderhiser & Reiss, 2003; Rowe, 1997). Loehlin et al (1998) conducted a study on monozygotic and dizygotic twins to establish the genetic basis of personality. In the study, the correlations of traits between monozygotic twins were greater than the correlations between dizygotic twins, suggesting that there is a heritable basis to personality. Genetic influence was found to account for 51% to

58% of the variance in personality. Less than half of the variance was related to situational factors, and the interaction between genetics and environment. No variance was attributed to shared environmental effects between twins (Loehlin et al., 1998) Similarly, McCrae, Jang, Livesley, Riemann and Angleitner (2001) demonstrated that the five factors are found in both phenotype and genotype, and that shared environmental influences may have no effect on personality. According to McCrae (2005), some researchers are uncomfortable with the large role that the Big Five traits have assigned to genetics. For example, McCrae cites a study (McCrae, 2002) where people in Japan tended to score higher on Neuroticism than did people in Denmark. By implication, this finding can assume that people in Japan are genetically inclined to experience more depression and anxiety than are people in Denmark. This according to McCrae (2005) may induce and justify racial discrimination, making this theory open

to abuse. However, McCrae (2005) cautions that the aforementioned findings can be explained by a variety of other factors beyond genetics, including sampling error, differences in construct equivalence with the measures used, response styles, and cultural factors. Thus, caution must be exercised in ascribing trait behaviour simply to genetic influences. 66 3.52 Stability of traits The stability of the personality traits over time has been subject to many studies (cf. Costa & McCrae, 1997; Costa & McCrae, 1998; Morizot & Le Blanc, 2003; Roberts, Caspi & Moffitt, 2001; Srivastava, John, Gosling & Potter, 2003). McCrae and Costa (1994), evaluating 20 years of longitudinal studies on trait stability, argue that the evidence suggests that the five personality traits develop until the age of 30, and thereafter remain stable. This stability extends beyond gender and culture (McCrae & Costa, 1994). A longitudinal study conducted by Costa and McCrae (1988) provided

evidence for trait stability. In this study, the five traits remained stable, with the authors concluding that traits appear to be unaffected by life events and maturation. Roberts et al. (2001) found similar results, demonstrating that despite the multitude of unique events experienced by an individual, personality tends to remain moderately consistent from adolescence into adulthood. Robins, Fraley, Roberts and Trzesniewski (2001) found that there is an overall degree of consistency in personality. Furthermore, Robins et al, (2001) established that although normative changes in personality occurred, there were no dramatic shifts in any of the five factors. Srivastava et al (2003) found that the notion of trait stability is incorrect. In their study, none of the traits were found to remain stable after age 30. Conscientiousness and Agreeableness demonstrated change, with Conscientiousness altering mainly in the 20’s and Agreeableness during the 30’s. Extroversion and Neuroticism

was also found to decline with age for women. Helson, Kwan, John and Jones (2002), providing an overview of studies exploring personality change with age, concluded that there is strong evidence for personality change with age, with this change occurring across gender and cultural boundaries. Pervin (1994, p. 105) critiques the view of trait stability, arguing that studies examining the stability of the traits beyond the age of 30 years have ignored 67 “the potential for even small changes is some elements to result in dramatic change in the overall organisation of personality functioning.” Furthermore, this view fails to capture the non-trait and environmental aspects that maintain stability (Pervin, 1994). McCrae and Costa (1994) acknowledge that change may occur in certain traits, due to various life events, such as divorce and mid-life career changes. However, the authors argue that traits, which appear to have changed, simply transfer from one area to another. For example,

intellectual curiosity may be demonstrated overtly by an interest in tennis, which could later change to an interest in gardening (McCrae & Costa, 1994). 3.53 Cross-cultural studies Various studies examining the cross-cultural applicability of the five-factor model have been conducted (cf. Church, 2001; De Raad, 1992; Hofstee, Kiers, De Raad, Goldberg & Ostendorf, 1997; McCrae, 2004). Pulver, Allik, Pulkkinen and Hämäläinen (1995) found that the five-factor model is evident in Estonian and Finnish populations, and Hofstee et al., (1997) established that this model is evident in the Dutch and German language, providing evidence for the five factors in Indo-European languages. De Raad (1992) found that the five factors hold up in Dutch, albeit the ordering of the five factors differs from the English ordering. Accordingly, it appears that personality related concepts are similar across languages (Pulver et al., 1995) McCrae (2001) states that personality traits may be

universal, as they demonstrate a similar structure to the five factor model in various cultures. Digman (1990, p 433) mentions that due to the replicabilty of the five factors in various languages “something quite fundamental is involved here.” Conversely, De Raad and Peabody (2005, p. 452) contend that “straight unequivocal identification of all the five factors in all other languages has hardly been possible.” These differences have been attributed to cultural-linguistic aspects (De Raad & Peabody, 2005). Yang and Bond (1990) caution against the 68 use of English personality descriptors in cross-cultural research, questioning whether trait terms derived from America are sensitive to different language and cultural groups. Block (1995) queries the lexical approach and single-word terms employed in studies, inquiring as to whether this approach is able to capture the fundamental aspects and dynamic nature of personality. Henss (1995) also comments on the lexical

approach. He argues that unless an exhaustive list of terms is created, the possibility of bias occurs. In addition, lists that do not contain an adequate amount of terms may influence results of a study, as the outcome of a lexical approach is dependent on the traits in the list (Henss, 1995). Despite the numerous studies done on the cross-cultural applicability, as discussed above, there is limited research examining the applicability of the fivefactor model in South Africa (Heuchert, Parker, Stumpf & Myburgh, 2000). Studies in this regard have been contradictory. For example, Heuchert et al (2000) established that the five-factor model exists in both white and black South African students and Taylor (2004; Taylor & De Bruin, 2006) found that the Big Five factors occur in Afrikaans, English, Nguni and Sotho speakers. Conversely, Heaven and Pretorius (1998), and Zhang and Abedowale (2002) failed to replicate this model in the student population. Heaven and Pretorius (1998)

suggest that the natural language approach in describing personality traits is unsuitable for the South African population, and thus, a South African derived personality measure is required. The Basic Traits Inventory (BTI; Taylor & De Bruin, 2006) as used in this study may be able to fulfil this requirement. 3.54 Factor disagreement Personality researchers are divided on how many trait factors adequately describe personality (Pervin, 1994). Eysenck argued for a three-factor structure to personality, consisting of extroversion-introversion, neuroticism and psychotism (Eysenck, 1960; Pervin & John, 2001). Costa and McCrae (1995) disagree with this notion, arguing that a five-factor model is preferable, 69 demonstrating that Agreeableness and Conscientiousness fuse into the psychotism factor. Peabody (1987) found that six factors exist, which demonstrate some relationship with the five-factor model, albeit with differences. Tellegen (1993) established evidence for seven

factors, whereas Jernigan and Demaree (1971 cited in Guilford, 1975) found 20, 12 and 14 factors depending on the number of factors extracted and rotated. More recently, De Raad and Barelds (2008) found that eight factors exist. McCrae and Costa (1987) examined the factor structure in 80 adjective pairs and compared four, five, six, seven and eight factor solutions. The authors found that only the five-factor solution demonstrated a reproduction of all the factors (McCrae & Costa, 1987). The evidence thus supports the notion that “[f]ive factors are ‘just right’” (McCrae & John, 1992, p. 192). 3.55 Critiques from Mischel Mischel (1968) in his book Personality and Assessment commented on the trait approach to personality. According to Mischel (1968, p 42): “To invoke trait names as explanatory entities confuses constructions about behaviour with the causes of behaviour. Traits are used first simply as adverbs describing behaviour (e.g, ‘he behaves

anxiously’), but this soon is generalised to describe the person (‘he is anxious’) and then abstracted to ‘he has anxiety.’ These descriptions are not problematic as long as their bases are recalled - namely, he is construed as behaving anxiously, and no more. Nothing is explained, however, if the state that we have attributed to the person from his behaviour (‘he has a trait or state of anxiety’) is now invoked as the cause of the behavior from which it was inferred. We quickly emerge 70 with the tautology, ‘he behaves anxiously because he has a trait of anxiety.’ This is the danger of trait-theoretical explanations” Thus, Mischel (1968) contends that traits serve as labels. Once a person is labelled with a trait, new observations are constrained to this label, and the label becomes increasingly difficult to disconfirm. This results in the label becoming persistent over time, and promoting the belief that the label matches with the behaviour it describes. In

addition, Mischel argues that the trait approach to personality fails to take cognisance of the situational factors that influence personality. He argues that behaviour is determined by the demands of the situation, and thus, the assertion that behaviour is consistent across situations is fallacious (McAdams, 2006; Mischel, 1968). 3.6 The five factors For the purpose of this study, the author will use the five factors as labelled by McCrea and Costa (2006). These factors are labelled Neuroticism, Extroversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. 3.61 Neuroticism The term neuroses, as conceptualised by Freud, was a fundamental aspect of his discourse on sexuality and psychopathology (Davison et al., 2004; Freud, 1912). The concept of neuroses was used to describe individuals who experienced unrealistic anxiety (Davison et al., 2004) Neuroticism is related to the tendency of an individual to experience distress (McCrae & John, 1992). McCrae and Costa (1987)

state that Neuroticism is commonly described by adjective terms such as insecure and temperamental. However, Tellegn (1993) cautions that there are limited adjectives in the English language that account for emotional instability. 71 McCrae and Costa (1989) state that those individuals who score high on Neuroticism are predisposed to experience negative emotions, such as anxiety and depression. In addition, these individuals may be viewed as emotionally unstable (McCrea & Costa, 1989). An important distinction to be made is that people who score low on Neuroticism are not necessarily higher on positive mental health, but rather more prone to reflect a calm and relaxed disposition (McCrae & John, 1992). McCrae and Costa (2006) assert that Neuroticism consists of six facets. These six factors are anxiety, hostility, depression, self-consciousness, vulnerability and impulsiveness. The first two of these facets, anxiety and hostility, represent two basic emotions, namely, fear

and anger. Traits associated with anxiety include nervous, high strung and tense. These individuals have the tendency to worry, and demonstrate a pre-occupation with what may go wrong. Hostility is associated with anger, irritability and petulance, making it difficult to get along with this person. Depression is related to experiences of sadness, hopelessness and guilt, whereas self-consciousness is associated with shame and embarrassment. Moreover, these individuals may experience a sense of inferiority. Impulsiveness is demonstrated overtly as a proclivity for desires and capitulation to temptations. Vulnerability is associated with a general inability to manage stress. Taylor and de Bruin (2006, p. 10) define Neuroticism as: “[t]he tendency to experience negative affects such as fear, sadness, embarrassment, anger, and fretfulness. Along with these, individuals high in Neuroticism tend to be prone to irrational ideas, are less able to control their negative emotions, and

cope poorly with stress. Individuals who score low in Neuroticism are emotionally stable, calm, even-tempered and composed.” 72 3.62 Extroversion The factor of Extroversion has less consensus that Neuroticism (McCrae & John, 1992). Adjectives used to describe the extrovert are sociable, friendly, dominant, active and talkative. These descriptions of Extroversion correspond with Eysenck’s views of lively sociability (McCrae & Costa, 1987; McCrae & Costa, 1989). However, McCrae and Costa (1987) argue that this factor is not Extroversion as described by Jung. Jung (1936) described the extravert as externally focused, demonstrating the capacity to endure and enjoy noise and activity, and having numerous friends and acquaintances. Various descriptions of Extroversion have been postulated by researchers such as Guilford, Eysenck, Cattell and Costa and McCrae (Watson & Clark, 1997). Watson and Clark (1997) proposed a model to integrate these diverse views of the

construct. This hierarchical model consists of three levels At the first level is the construct of Extroversion. The second level consists of six dimensions, four of which are central dimensions, and two lying on the periphery of the model. The lowest level of the model divides each of the six dimensions into two sub-traits, each of which are strongly correlated to each other (Watson & Clark, 1997). The four central dimensions are affiliation, positive affectivity, energy and ascendance. Affiliation represents the sociable component of Extroversion, and consists of Warmth and Gregariousness. Positive affectivity is represented by differences in the regularity and intensity of positive mood, and is divided into Joy and Enthusiasm. Energy is concerned with differences in vigour, and consists of Liveliness and Activity. The last of the central traits is ascendance, representing differences in relation to assertiveness and social prominence. This dimension is divided into Liveliness

and Activity. The two peripheral dimensions are venturesomeness and ambition. Venturesomeness is related to differences in boldness and adventurousness, and consists of Change and Excitement- 73 Seeking. Ambition is related to mastery behaviours, and is divided into Achievement and Endurance (Watson & Clark, 1997). McCrae and Costa (2006) divide the six facets of Extroversion into interpersonal and temperamental traits. The three interpersonal traits are Warmth, Gregariousness and Assertiveness. Warmth refers to a forthcoming and affable disposition toward others. Gregariousness is concerned with the desire to have contact with others. Assertive individuals are easily able to make decisions, and readily express their emotions. The three temperamental traits are Activity, Excitement Seeking and Positive Emotions. Activity is evident in an energetic and active disposition. Excitement Seeking refers to a proclivity for excitement in the environment. Positive Emotionality is

reflected in emotions such as delight and enthusiasm. Taylor and de Bruin (2006, p. 9) define the extroverted individual as: “[t]hose who enjoy being around people, especially large gatherings, and tend to be assertive, active and talkative. They like stimulation and excitement, and are generally cheerful and optimistic. Individuals scoring low in Extroversion tend to prefer their own company, are reserved and independent and do things at an even pace.” 3.63 Openness to Experience Openness to Experience is a contentious factor, and has been subject to differing conceptualisations (Matthews et al., 2003; McCrae & John, 1992; see McCrae & Costa, 1997 for an overview). Fiske (1949 cited in Trapnell, 1994) described this factor as inquiring intellect, whereas Norman (1963 cited in McCrae & Costa, 1987) represented this factor as culture. McCrae (1994) argues against the conceptualisation of intellect, stating that intellect assumes that individuals who score high on this

factor would be more intelligent, with studies been unable to 74 establish this relationship. Trapnell (1994) contends that adjective terms used to describe Openness to Experience are more related to cognitive aspects, whereas the emotional aspects of this factor are better accounted for in sentences. McCrae (1990) concurs, stating the trait terms that are pertinent to Openness to Experience tend to be found in phrases and sentences rather than single words. The use of culture is also disputed, with Liebert and Liebert (1998) mentioning that there are greater factor loadings on traits associated with Openness to Experience rather than culture. Creativity and intelligence have been found to demonstrate a relationship with the Openness to Experience factor, with individuals who score higher on the factor also tending to be more creative. Thus, these individuals tend to be novel in their thinking, have broad interested domains, and an augmented imagination. Individuals scoring lower on

his factor tend not to attempt new experiences and be more comfortable with familiar experiences (McCrae, 1987). This factor is further evidence by sensitivity to aesthetic value, a proclivity for variety, and emotional responsiveness to aesthetics (McCrae & Costa, 1989; Trapnell, 1994). The six facets of Openness to Experience are aesthetics, feelings, ideas, values, actions and fantasy. Fantasy is represented by a vivid imagination and elaborate musings. Aesthetics in reflected by sensitivity toward artistic creations Feelings are evidenced by a strong experience of emotion from which existential meaning is derived. Action is related to a willingness to experience novel situations Individuals scoring higher on openness to Ideas and Values are interested in knowledge and the acquiring of knowledge, and demonstrate liberal and creative cognitions (McCrae & Costa, 2006). Taylor and de Bruin (2006, p. 12) describe individuals scoring high on Openness as: 75 “[c]urious about

their world, lead experientially rich lives, and give thought to new ideas and unconventional values. Open people actively seek out novel experiences and tend to reflect on ideas. They enjoy and are able to grasp new ideas and have a wide range of interests. Individuals scoring low on Openness to Experience tend to be conventional and conservative. They seem to have a narrower scope and intensity of interests, and are generally unwilling to question traditional values and ways of thinking.” 3.64 Agreeableness Digman (1990, p. 422) contends that Agreeableness “seems tepid for a dimension that appears to involve the more humane aspects of humanity.” This factor is concerned with an individual’s interpersonal orientation (Pervin & John, 2001). At one end of this dimension are trait characteristics such as caring, cooperativeness and altruism. At the other end are charactersitcs such as indifference, callousness, hostility and spitefulness (Digman, 1990; Graziano &

Eisenberg, 1997; Haslam, 2007; McCrae & Costa, 1989). The antithesis of Agreeableness can thus be conceptualised as antagonism (Cavanaugh & Blanchard-Fields, 2006; Pervin & John, 2001). The character of Mouse in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland captures an element of antagonism. In this particular scene, Alice is attempting to converse with Mouse (Carroll, 1865/1984, p. 38): “’I shall do nothing of the sort,’ said the Mouse, getting up and walking away. ‘You insult me by talking such nonsense!’ ‘I didn’t mean it!’ pleaded poor Alice. ‘But you’re so easily offended, you know!’” 76 The antagonistic description is comparable to Eysenck’s dimension of psychotism, in that both describe hostile and displeasing traits (Liebert & Liebert, 1998). Although it may be idealistic to desire a high score on Agreeableness, Cavanaugh and Blanchard-Fields (2006), and Liebert and Liebert (1998) mention that exceedingly high scores on Agreeableness

frequently manifests in overly dependent and modest behaviour, which may be disagreeable to others. The six facets of Agreeableness are straightforwardness, altruism, modesty, trust, compliance and tender mindedness. Trust is evidenced in an attitude of belief in others, and not expecting hidden motives from other people. Straightforwardness is related to sincerity and trustworthy behaviour. Compliance is demonstrated by deference toward others. Modesty is related to an attitude of selflessness. Tender-mindedness is related to sentimentality and compassion toward others. Altruism is concerned with a consideration toward others and a desire to assist others (McCrae & Costa, 2006). Taylor and de Bruin (2006, p. 13) describe individuals who are high in Agreeableness as: “sympathetic towards others, straightforward, selfless, are eager to help, and believe that others will be helpful in return. Individuals who score low on Agreeableness tend to be sceptical, manipulative,

competitive, and self-centred. In other words, they look after their own interests.” 3.65 Conscientiousness McCrae and John (1992) argue that Agreeableness and Conscientiousness have moral connotations. These two dimensions describe “‘good’ versus ‘evil’ [intentions] and ‘strong-willed’ versus ‘weak-willed’ individuals” respectively (McCrae & John, 1992, p. 197) While disagreement exists concerning the name 77 of this factor, researchers are generally in accord with the traits that characterise Conscientiousness (Haslam, 2007). Individuals who score high on this factor are described as thorough, organised, achievement-orientated, efficient, diligent and goal striving (Digman & Inouye, 1986; Haslam, 2007; McCrea & Costa, 1987; McCrae & John, 1992). Individuals scoring low on this factor tend to be impulsive, careless toward responsibilities and disorganised (Haslam, 2007). The six facets of Conscientiousness are competence, self-discipline,

deliberation, dutifulness, order and achievement striving. Competence describes a sense of rationality and efficacy in tasks. Order is concerned with an individual’s organisation. Dutifulness is evidenced by an individual’s adherence to moral precepts and duty. Achievement striving is related to the pursuit of excellence in every undertaking, with self-discipline reflecting the ability to accomplish goals. Deliberation is related to purposeful planning and careful decision making prior to acting (McCrae & Costa, 2006). According to Taylor and de Bruin (2006, p. 11): “[c]onscientiousness has to do with the self-discipline required in planning, organising, and carrying out of tasks. Individuals high in Conscientiousness are focused, strong-willed, and determined. They also tend to be dependable, hardworking, achievement oriented, and persevering. Low scorers tend to be more relaxed in working towards their goals, and may tend to be more hedonistic, distractible and impulsive

than high scorers. Individuals who score low on the order facet of Conscientiousness prefer less organised environments and dislike routine.” 78 3.7 Personality and burnout Burnout is argued to result from environmental and situational factors (Kokkinos, 2007; Shirom, 1989). The role of personality as a causative agent in burnout has recently received increased attention (cf. Kokkinos, 2007; Miner, 2007) Piedmont (1993, p. 464) argues, “personality plays an important role in the experience of job-related distress.” For example, Storm and Rothmann (2003) found that the five-factors of personality demonstrate a relationship with burnout. Several studies have been conducted on this association between personality and burnout (cf. Bakker et al, 2006; Hills et al, 2004; Miner, 2007; Piedmont, 1993). This section presents an overview of various investigations conducted in this area. The most consistent findings regarding the relationship between personality and burnout have been

found for Neuroticism and Extroversion (Bühler & Land, 2003). Numerous studies have found that Neuroticism is related to all three factors of burnout, namely, emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment (Bakker et al., 2006; Bühler & Land, 2003; Kokkinos, 2007). In a study conducted by Bühler and Land (2003) on intensive care unit staff, Neuroticism demonstrated a significant positive relationship with emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Several studies have corroborated with this finding. For example, Bakker et al (2006) examining volunteer counsellors; Hills et al. (2004) investigating ministers; and Kokkinos (2007) sampling primary school educators, found that Neuroticism is positively related to emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Miner (2007), examining burnout in religious ministers, established that Neuroticism demonstrates a negative relationship with personal accomplishment. Kokkinos (2007) also demonstrated this negative

relationship in her research. In contrast to these findings, Zellars et al (2000) demonstrated that in a sample of nurses, only emotional exhaustion was related to Neuroticism. 79 Neuroticism is closely related to experiences of negative affectivity (Watson & Clark, 1992). High scores on this factor are linked to emotions such as fear and frustration, whereas low scores are related to a calm and relaxed disposition (McCrae & Costa, 2006; McCrae & John, 1992). The negative emotions common to Neuroticism frequently lead to ineffective coping strategies (DeLongis & Holtzman, 2005; Lee-Baggley et al., 2005; McCrae & Costa, 1986) For example, there is evidence that individuals who score high on Neuroticism tend to make use of emotion-focused coping, interpersonal withdrawal, escape avoidance, self-blame, escapist fantasy, passivity and indecisiveness (Lee-Baggley et al., 2005; Miner, 2007; McCrae & Costa, 1986). These individuals may also have a sense of

apprehension, expecting the worst from a situation, while underestimating their own ability to cope with the demands of the situation (Bakker et al., 2006; Zellars et al, 2000) Zellars et al (2000) argue that the anxiety and negative affect, combined with increased vulnerability to situational events, could lead these individuals to ascribe blame to others for their feelings of anxiety, hereby increasing the tendency to experience depersonalisation. In addition, the tendency to anticipate the worst may result in reduced professional efficacy. Miner (2007, p 26) contends that “[s]ince Neuroticism represents a general tendency to negativity in thinking, mood and coping, it is not surprising that such a style would be conducive to a sense of emotional exhaustion, together with anxiety and depression.” It thus appears that Neuroticism is related to emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced professional efficacy (Bakker et al., 2006; Bühler & Land, 2003; Kokkinos, 2007)

Extroversion has consistently been found to demonstrate a relationship with burnout (Bakker et al., 2006; Piedmont, 1993; Zellars et al, 2000) Tomic et al (2004), examining church ministers, established that this factor has a negative relation with emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, and a positive association with personal accomplishment. Similar findings were demonstrated by Bakker et al. (2006), Kokkinos (2007) and Miner (2007) Despite the relative 80 consistency of these findings, Bühler and Land (2003) discovered that Extroversion had a positive relationship with both emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. People who score high on Extroversion are generally people-orientated. In addition, they frequently experience optimism and enthusiasm, and experience augmented levels of energy (McCrea & Costa, 2006; Watson & Clark, 1997; Zellars et al., 2000) Thus, it appears that Extroversion is related to the experience of positive affect (Watson & Clark, 1997).

Zellars et al (2000) argue that the optimism, positive affect and energy, and increased interpersonal communication, experienced by individuals scoring high on this factor may result in reduced experiences of emotional exhaustion, and depersonalisation. In addition to these factors, there is evidence that Extroversion is related to problem-focused coping, rational action, positive re-appraisal, and cognitivereframing (Bouchard, Guillemette & Landry-Léger, 2004; DeLongis & Holtzman, 2005; McCrea & Costa, 1986). Based on the aforementioned studies, it appears as if Extroversion is negatively related to emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation and positively related to professional efficacy (Bakker et al., 2006; Kokkinos, 2007; Piedmont, 1993). The relationship between Openness to Experience and burnout is tentative (Bakker et al., 2006) There is evidence that this factor is related to personal accomplishment (Bakker et al., 2006; Deary et al, 1996) For example, Storm

and Rothmann (2003), sampling pharmaceutical corporate staff, found that this factor demonstrates a positive relationship with personal accomplishment. Zellars et al. (2000), examining burnout and personality in nursing staff, similarly established this relationship. In addition, the authors found that Openness to Experience is negatively related to depersonalisation (Zellars et al., 2000) Kokkinos (2007) also found that this factor demonstrates a negative relationship to depersonalisation, but that there was a negative relation between the factor and personal accomplishment. Deary et al (1996) state that there is evidence 81 that people scoring higher on Openness to Experience have a decreased probability of experiencing emotional exhaustion. Openness to Experience is related to adaptive and flexible coping, and reduced levels of distancing from others (DeLongis & Holtzman, 2005; Lee-Baggley et al., 2004). Individuals scoring high on this factor may use humour as a coping

mechanism, whereas those individuals scoring low on this factor tend to make use of faith and distance-avoidance coping strategies (Bouchard et al., 2004; McCrae & Costa, 1986). Due to their awareness of the surroundings, individuals scoring high on this factor may be more attentive to stressors in their environment. These individuals are also more likely to attempt new experiences (McCrae & Costa, 1997; McCrae & Costa, 2006; Zellars et al., 2000) Stressful environments may thus be viewed by these individuals as a challenge, and hereby, they may experience an increased sense of personal accomplishment and diminished emotional exhaustion (Zellars et al., 2000) Agreeableness appears to demonstrate a positive relationship with personal accomplishment (Bakker et al., 2006) Furthermore, Deary et al (1996), sampling medical doctors, found that Agreeableness is negatively related to depersonalisation. Hochwälder (2006), examining burnout in nurses and assistants in home

based and service care for the elderly, similarly established this aforesaid relationship. Piedmont (1993), exploring personality and burnout in occupational therapists, found that Agreeableness is negatively related to emotional exhaustion. Thus, Storm and Rothmann (2003) state that there is a negative relationship between Agreeableness and burnout. Agreeableness is related to the interpersonal aspects of personality (McCrae & John, 1992; Zellars et al., 2000) Individuals scoring high on this factor tend to be trusting, cooperative and pleasant, while individuals scoring low on this factor tend to be quarrelsome (Digman, 1990; McCrae & Costa, 1989, Zellars et al., 2000). This factor, which is related to the caring of others, may allow an 82 individual to manage with clients and the accompanying frustration. This may result in reduced feelings of depersonalisation and emotional exhaustion, and augmented experiences of personal accomplishment (Digman, 1990; McCrae &

Costa, 1989; Zellars et al., 2000) Agreeableness has also been associated with social support and self-blame coping mechanisms (DeLongis & Holtzman, 2005; Lee-Baggley et al., 2004) Conscientiousness appears to be related to greater feelings of personal accomplishment (Kokkinos, 2007). For example, Deary et al (1996), Hochwälder (2006) and Piedmont (1993) found that this factor is positively associated with personal accomplishment. Kokkinos (2007) established that there is a negative relationship between Conscientiousness and depersonalisation. Zellars et al (2000) argue that the goal-directed behaviour and focus on efficacy demonstrated by individuals scoring high on this factor may lead these individuals not to focus on clients, but more on achieving results, which leads to increased depersonalisation. However, the goal-directed behaviour and striving for accomplishment related to this factor may result in increased experiences of professional accomplishment (McCrae & Costa,

2006; Zellars et al., 2000) High scores on Conscientiousness have been related to reduced use of escapeavoidance, and self-blame strategies, and the use of problem-solving strategies (Bouchard et al., 2004; DeLongis & Holtzman, 2005; Lee-Baggley et al, 2004) Thus, there appears to be a relationship between high scores on Conscientiousness and reduced experiences of burnout (Zellars et al., 2000) The results of the above-mentioned studies are summarised in Table 3.1 Table 3.1 Summary of Research Findings on the Relationship between Burnout and Personality Traits Author Bakker et al. (2006) FFM Trait  Neuroticism Relationship  Positive relationship with emotional exhaustion; positive relationship with depersonalisation; negative relationship 83 with personal accomplishment  Extroversion  Negative relationship with depersonalisation; positive relationship with personal accomplishment Bühler and Land  Neuroticism  (2003) Positive relationship

with emotional exhaustion; positive relationship with depersonalisation  Extroversion  Positive relationship with emotional exhaustion; positive relationship with depersonalisation Deary et al. (1996)  Extroversion  Positive relationship with personal accomplishment  Agreeableness  Negative relationship with depersonalisation  Conscientiousness  Positive relationship with personal accomplishment Hills et al. (2004)  Neuroticism  Positive relationship with emotional exhaustion; positive relationship with depersonalisation Hochwälder (2006)  Neuroticism  Positive relationship with emotional exhaustion  Agreeableness  Negative relationship with depersonalisation  Conscientiousness  Positive relationship with personal accomplishment Kokkinos (2007)  Neuroticism  Positive relationship with emotional exhaustion; positive relationship with depersonalisation; negative relationship with personal accomplishment

 Extroversion  Negative relationship with emotional exhaustion; negative relationship with depersonalisation; positive relationship with personal accomplishment 84  Openness  Negative relationship with depersonalisation; negative relationship with personal accomplishment  Conscientiousness  Positive relationship with personal accomplishment; negative relationship with depersonalisation Miner (2007)  Neuroticism  Negative relationship with emotional exhaustion  Extroversion  Positive relationship with personal accomplishment Piedmont (1993)  Neuroticism  Positive relationship with emotional exhaustion; positive relationship with depersonalisation   Agreeableness Negative relationship with emotional exhaustion; positive relationship with personal accomplishment  Conscientiousness  Positive relationship with personal accomplishment Storm and  Extroversion  Rothmann (2003) Negative relationship with

emotional exhaustion  Openness  Positive relationship with personal accomplishment Tomic et al. (2004)  Extroversion  Negative relationship with emotional exhaustion; negative relationship with depersonalisation; positive relationship with personal accomplishment Zellars et al. (2000)  Neuroticism  Positive relationship with emotional exhaustion  Extroversion  Negative relationship with depersonalisation; positive relationship with personal accomplishment  Openness  Negative relationship with depersonalisation; positive relationship 85 with personal accomplishment  Agreeableness  Negative relationship with depersonalisation 3.8 Conclusion In this chapter, the trait approach to personality has been explored. The fivefactor model was discussed, and the relationship between these five-factors and burnout was provided. In light of this literature review, it appears that all of the five-factors are related to burnout. The most

consistent findings are that Neuroticism is positively related to emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, and negatively related to personal accomplishment. Extroversion appears to be negatively related to emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, and positively related to personal accomplishment. Openness to Experience has been demonstrated to be negatively related to depersonalisation, and positively related to personal accomplishment. Agreeableness appears to be negatively related to emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. The last factor, Conscientiousness is most consistently found to be positively related to personal accomplishment. 3.9 Preview of the contents of the following chapter In the following chapter the research method as it pertains to this study is discussed. 86 CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHOD 4.1 Introduction The research design and method is the most crucial aspect of a study, as a weak design and method retracts from the value of research findings

(Heppner & Heppner, 2004). This chapter commences with an overview of the research design, and includes a brief discussion of the quantitative paradigm, and descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. This is followed by the research hypotheses. Thereafter, the research method is presented and includes the participants sampled in the study as well as a description of the questionnaires completed by participants. The data analyses employed in this research is subsequently discussed, and the chapter concludes with a description of the ethical procedures that were followed in the completion of the study. 4.2 Research design In this study, a quantitative research paradigm was employed. More specifically, a cross-sectional survey design, in which correlational research was conducted, was used (Dyer, 1995; Goodwin, 2008; Gravetter & Forzano, 2003). In this section the research design is discussed. 4.21 The quantitative research paradigm Quantitative research is concerned with

the numerical presentation of data, and is considered an empirical means of scientific research (Dyer, 1995; Goodwin, 2008). The quantitative paradigm stands in contrast to the qualitative paradigm, which in recent years has become increasingly popular in psychological research (Dyer, 1995; Goodwin, 2008; Heppner & Heppner, 2004; Heppner, Kivlighan & 87 Wampold, 1999). The qualitative paradigm deals with themes that arise out of data, and data collection includes methods such as interviews, case-study reports and observational studies (Dyer, 1995; Heppner et al., 1999) The quantitative paradigm is concerned with generalisations of results from a sample group to the population as a whole (Heppner et al., 1999) The use of statistics is employed to achieve this aim. Two types of statistical techniques used in the quantitative paradigm are descriptive and inferential statistics (Dyer, 1995; Heppner et al., 1999) 4.22 Descriptive and inferential statistics Descriptive statistics

reduces a large quantity of data into information that is more easily comprehended (Dyer, 1995; Goodwin, 2008). According to Dyer (1995), this statistical method is frequently used as a starting point in quantitative research, as it is uncomplicated to compute and may be used as the foundation upon which further statistical analysis may be built. Thus, the goal of descriptive statistics is to summarise data into manageable information. Inferential statistics is used to generalise data from a sample group into the population as a whole (Gravetter & Forzano, 2003). This statistical technique allows for the testing of hypotheses that are not directly available. As such, an inference is derived from the data set (Dyer, 1995; Goodwin, 2008). 4.23 Survey design and correlational research The research design used in this study is the survey design. Survey research involves the administration of questionnaires to participants to determine a particular variable, such as attitudes or

personality (Goodwin, 2008; Heppner et al., 1999) Although surveys are generally used to develop an accurate description of a particular variable, in this research, the aim of the questionnaires was to establish the relationship between the variables of personality and 88 burnout (Goodwin, 2008). To achieve this objective, correlational research was employed. Correlational research is used to measure the nature of the relationship and strength of the relationship between variables. This strategy does not attempt to manipulate the variables, but is rather concerned with variables as they naturally exist. However, correlational research is not used to infer underlying causal relationships between the variables (Gravetter & Forzano, 2003; Heppner et al., 1999). The correlational research design allows for an investigation of a relationship between personality traits and burnout (Goodwin, 2008). In addition to the use of Pearson product-moment correlations to investigate this

relationship, multiple regression analyses were used to explore the combined effect of personality traits on burnout. 4.3 Hypotheses Hypotheses deal with the expected results to be obtained from a research inquiry. Hypotheses are generally based upon a scientific theory, allowing for both prediction and testability (Dyer, 1995; Goodwin, 2008). The hypotheses tested in this research are: (Ho1): The MBI-SS is not a valid and reliable instrument in the South African context. (Ha1): The MBI-SS is a valid and reliable instrument in the South African context. (Ho2): There is no statistically significant relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout. (Ha2): There is a statistically significant relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout. 89 4.4 Research method This section discusses the participants sampled in the study, the nature of the questionnaires administered and the administration procedure of the questionnaires. 4.41 Participants The

participants in this study were university students (N = 297). The majority of the participants fell into the age group between 18 and 24 (94.6%) This age group can be considered the usual age of university student populations. Several participants did however indicate other ages. The mean age of the participants was 21.24 (SD = 2675) Further descriptions of the participants are provided in Tables 4.1 to 45 Participants were selected by means of non-probability sampling. In non-probability sampling, the researcher does not know the probability of a particular individual been selected. For this reason, the use of non-probability sampling is considered to be a biased method of participant selection as there is a risk of selecting a biased sample (Gravetter & Forzano, 2003). However, despite this disadvantage, the strength of the non-probability sampling method is that it removes the requirement of having to specify the entire population, as in random sampling techniques (Dyer, 1995).

Thus, according to Dyer (1995), the use of this technique is acceptable when the representativeness of the sample from the population is not a significant factor. Various forms of non-probability sampling techniques are available. The technique used in this research was convenience sampling. In convenience sampling, individuals who are available and willing to participate in a study are selected (Gravetter & Forzano, 2003). This technique is considered an ineffective means of data collection as it does not make use of a random selection process, resulting in a biased sample. However, despite this limitation, convenience sampling allows for the attainment of a large sample in a short duration of time 90 (Dyer, 1995; Goodwin, 2008; Gravetter & Forzano, 2003; Heppner et al., 1999) Goodwin (2008) contends that this sampling technique is suitable when the participants selected meet the requirements of the study. For these reasons, the use of non-probability sampling, and

convenience sampling in particular, was considered acceptable in this study, as the required participants are university students. Thus, the participants selected in this study fulfilled Goodwin’s (2008) requirement. In order to reduce bias in a study using the non-probability sampling technique, Gravetter and Forzano (2003) suggest that two strategies are employed. Firstly, the researcher must make an attempt to obtain a representative sample. Secondly, the description of the sample obtained must be clear and unambiguous to allow readers to scrutinise the sample for bias and representativeness. In this study, both these strategies were employed The researcher ensured that questionnaires were provided to students from various faculties, as students from only one faculty may skew the results. For example, students from the Faculty of Humanities may have a trend toward certain personality traits (see for example the argument provided by Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) around personality

traits and burnout, provided in section 2.72), and this may negatively affect the hypotheses tested in the study. Furthermore, based on the limitations of the studies by Mostert et al. (2007) and Pienaar and Sieberhagen (2005), participants from various ethnic and language groups as well as participants from both genders were selected in order to obtain a representative sample. Table 41 presents the gender and racial distribution of participants in this study. Table 4.1 Gender and Racial Group Distribution of Participants N 297 GENDER RACIAL GROUP Female Male Missing Black Coloured White Asian Missing 191 104 2 76 10 179 30 2 91 The participants in this study consisted of 191 women (64.3%) and 104 men (35%). Of the four racial groups, 76 were black (256%), 10 coloured (34%), 179 white (60.7%) and 30 Asian (101%) Table 42 summarises the language distribution of the participants in this study. Table 4.2 Home Language Distribution of Participants LANGUAGE N = 297

English 158 Afrikaans 65 IsiZulu 25 Isixhosa 4 Setswana 12 Northern Sotho 6 Southern Sotho 10 Other 15 Missing data 2 In order to explore the reliability and construct validity of the MBI-SS in South African university students, participants from a variety of languages were included in the sample. The majority of the participants (158, 532%) indicated that English was there home language. Sixty-five participants (219%) indicated that they spoke Afrikaans, and 57 participants (19.1%) indicated that they spoke one of the indigenous African languages. Fifteen participants (51%) indicated that they spoke a language not indicated on the biographical questionnaire. Several of these other languages are African languages, but languages not indigenous to South African were also included. The language distribution in this sample was representative of the general university population. In addition, the limitations of previous studies using the MBI-SS in South Africa made the

sampled language groups satisfactory for this study. Table 43 summarises the faculty distributions of the participants. 92 Table 4.3 Faculty Distribution of Participants FACULTY N = 297 Education 3 Law 2 Engineering 2 Humanities 83 Science 18 Management 82 Economics and Finance 40 Health 64 Missing data 3 In order to ensure that the sample was not biased, the participants were selected from a variety of faculties and all year groups of university study. The majority of the students were from the Faculties of Humanities, Management and Health (77%). The remaining faculties accounted for 22% of the sample Table 44 indicates the year groups in which the participants were registered. Table 4.4 Year of Study Distribution of Participants YEAR N = 297 1st year 45 2nd year 113 rd 3 year 48 Post-graduate 89 Missing data 2 The study obtained students from the various years of study at university. The first year students accounted for 15.2% of the sample The

second year group, from which the majority of students were obtained, consisted of 38.3% of the total sample. The third year group sample was 162% and the post-graduate sample was 30% of the total sample respectively. The year of study distribution allowed 93 for a representative sample of the university population. The biographical questionnaire included a question pertaining to the part-time work distribution of the participants. Table 45 presents this information Table 4.5 Part-time Work Distribution of Participants PART-TIME WORK N = 297 Yes 146 No 149 Missing data 2 There were an almost an equal number of participants who had part-time work (49.2%) as those who did not have part-time work (502%) 4.42 Instruments Two psychometric instruments were employed, namely, the Basic Traits Inventory - Short Form (BTI-SF; Taylor & de Bruin, 2006) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Survey (MBI-SS; Schaufeli et al., 2002) A biographical questionnaire was also included

to obtain the necessary biographical data for the study. In this section, the three questionnaires are discussed. 4.421 The Basic Traits Inventory - Short Form The Basic Traits Inventory (BTI; Taylor & de Bruin, 2006) was developed to assess the Big Five factors of personality in the South African population. The five f a c t o r s are Neuroticism, Extroversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. The five-factor model has received empirical support in the South African context, as discussed under section 3.53 94 The BTI is a paper-and-pencil test, in which the respondent completes a questionnaire by means of self-reported answers. The BTI consists of 193 items, which are rated on a five-point Likert type scale that range from strongly disagree to strongly agree (Taylor & de Bruin, 2006). The standardisation sample for the BTI consisted of police applicants and trainees (62.2%), psychology students (17.8%), medical aid call centre employees

(27%) and Masters of Business Administration students (3.2%) The ethnic status of the sample was Black (66.3%), White (148%), Coloured (34%), Asian (26%), other (06%) and unspecified (12.4%) Factor analyses established that the Big Five factors emerged across the various cultural groups found in South Africa. Congruence coefficients were found to be at, or above 0.96, indicating that the Big Five personality factors are found in both the Black and White population groups in South Africa (Taylor, 2004; Taylor & de Bruin, 2006). The Cronbach alpha reliability coefficients (total coefficients including both the Black and White ethnic groups) reported in the BTI manual (Taylor & de Bruin, 2006) are Extroversion (0.87), Neuroticism (093), Conscientiousness (093), Openness to Experience (0.87) and Agreeableness (089) Thomson (2007), in a sample of men and women in the corporate sector, found Cronbach reliability coefficients of 0.89 Conscientiousness, for 0.89 Extroversion, for

Openness 0.94 to for Neuroticism, Experience and 0.91 for 0.90 for Agreeableness. The BTI-SF is a shortened version of the BTI, and similarly measures the Big Five personality traits. The BTI-SF consists of 60 items which are rated on a fivepoint Likert type scale that range from strongly disagree to strongly agree The authors of the BTI extracted these 60 items from the original instrument. This version of the BTI is currently being regarded as a research instrument. The following Cronbach alpha coefficients were obtained for the BTI-SF in this study: Extroversion (0.84), Neuroticism (088), Conscientiousness (088), Openness to 95 Experience (0.85) and Agreeableness (081) Thus, the reliability coefficients in the study were found to be satisfactory (Tabachnick & Fidell, 1983, 2001). 4.422 The Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Survey The MBI-SS (Schaufeli et al., 2002) is an adapted version of the MBI-GS, and measures three aspects of the burnout syndrome:

exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy. The instrument consists of 15 items, five items measure exhaustion, four items cynicism and six items professional efficacy. The items are scored on a 7-point frequency scale, with the range covering 0 (never) to 6 (always). The professional efficacy scale is reverse scored The MBI-SS has adapted items from the MBI-GS for use in the student population (Schaufeli et al., 2002) For example, the item “I feel emotionally drained from my work [italics added]” was replaced with “I feel emotionally drained from my study [italics added]” (Schaufeli et al., 2002, p 467) As with the other versions of the MBI, there are no norms scores available for the MBI-SS. Rather, burnout is indicated by the attainment of high scores on exhaustion and cynicism, and low scores on professional efficacy (Schaufeli et al., 2002) Recently a professional inefficacy scale was added to the MBI-SS (Bresó et al., 2007; Schaufeli & Salanova, 2007). The

professional inefficacy scale consists of negatively worded items from the professional efficacy scale. The professional inefficacy scale also consists of six items which are scored on a 7-point frequency scale. Cronbach alpha reliability coefficients as reported by Bresó et al. (2007) were 065 for the Dutch sample and 062 for the Spanish sample Despite the relatively low reliability correlations, Bresó et al. (2007) found that observed and latent correlations, concurrent validity and confirmatory factor analysis supported that professional inefficacy is a better fit with burnout than the professional efficacy scale. An item analysis conducted by Bresó et al (2007) found that no items required alteration; however, the professional inefficacy scale may require more items to improve the internal consistency of this scale. The 96 professional inefficacy scale was included in this study in order to determine the reliability and construct validity of the MBI-SS with and without this

scale. This allowed for an examination of the reliability of the professional efficacy and inefficacy scales in the South African student population. The MBI-SS has been researched in South Africa (Mostert et al., 2007; Pienaar & Sieberhagen, 2005). In the study by Mostert et al (2007), Afrikaans and Setswana speaking participants (N = 353) were selected from the Economic and Management Sciences Faculty at two campuses from a local university. Mostert et al. (2007) randomised the items of the MBI-SS with items from the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES; Schaufeli et al., 2002) to prevent response bias. The Cronbach alpha coefficients found were 074 for exhaustion and 068 for cynicism, with professional efficacy not been explored in the study. These reliabilities are not considered high (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001), but Mostert et al. (2007) demonstrated evidence for the construct validity and reliability of the MBISS for South African university students. One item from the

cynicism scale (“I have become more cynical about the potential usefulness of my studies”) was found to be statistically insignificant (Mostert et al., 2007; Schaufeli et al, 2002, p. 478) Pienaar and Sieberhagen (2005) sampled student leaders (N = 154) from the Students’ Representative Council and members of the House Committees from a local university. The majority of students were Afrikaans speaking and from the White ethnic group. Pienaar and Sieberhagen (2005) found Cronbach alpha coefficients of 0.79 for exhaustion, 073 for cynicism and 0.76 for professional efficacy The Cronbach alpha coefficients for the present study are presented in section 5.22 as they form part of the research question The reliability coefficients were however found to be satisfactory for the purpose of this study (Nunnaly & Bernstein, 1994). The reader is referred to page 102 to inspect the Cronbach alpha coefficients obtained in the study. 97 4.423 Biographical questionnaire The biographical

questionnaire required information pertaining to the participants’ age, gender, ethnic group, current year of study, current part-time work, and faculty in which registered. This information allowed for the selection of a representative sample, as it was possible to ascertain whether the sample was biased or unbiased in favour of certain groups of students. 4.43 Administration of the questionnaires and procedure The questionnaires used in this research were administered during normal lecture time, as per permission from the lecturers. The administration was performed by the researcher under supervision of a registered psychologist. The participants were informed about the nature of the study as well as that participation was voluntary. In addition, the participants were directed to carefully scrutinise the confidentiality section provided in the questionnaire pack before continuing with the study. Ethical considerations were of paramount importance in this study. Section 46 of this

chapter provides a full description of the ethical procedures followed. 4.5 Data analyses Based on the research problem, the general purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout, as well as to explore the reliability and construct validity of the MBI-SS. The data analyses in the study were performed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, version 15). Descriptive (mean scores and standard deviations) and inferential statistics were employed in the analysis of the data. The reliabilities of the BTI and MBI-SS were ascertained by means of Cronbach alpha coefficients. Cronbach’s alpha is used as a measure of internal consistency 98 reliability and is able to ascertain the reliability of measures that have multiple items that are not dichotomous (Urbina, 2004; Wolfaardt & Roodt, 2005). In addition to assessing the reliability of the MBI-SS, the construct validity of this instrument for the South

African context was assessed by means of confirmatory factor analysis (Kerlinger & Lee, 2000). Factor analysis is used to ascertain the factor domains that underlie a variable or measure. Thus, it allows for the grouping together of factors that measure the same, or a similar construct (de Bruin, 2005; Urbina, 2004). Two types of factor analysis exist, namely, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Exploratory factor analysis is concerned with the discovery of the factors that underlie a construct. Conversely, confirmatory factor analysis is used to confirm the factors that already exist in a particular measure (Urbina, 2004). Confirmatory factor analysis was performed in this study to investigate whether the postulated three-factor model emerged for the group. To determine whether factor analysis was viable, inter-correlations among the items were calculated. Tabachnick and Fidell (2001) recommended that the number of coefficients greater than 0.30 be considered to

ascertain whether a factor analysis is appropriate. To further evaluate the factorability of the data, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy was calculated. The KMO index ranges from 0 to 1, with 0.6 suggested as the minimum value for a factor analysis (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001). In determining the number of factors to be extracted, the Kaiser eigenvalues-greater-than-one criterion and Cattell’s scree test were considered (Pallant, 2007). Within the broad spectrum of factor analysis, this study made use of principal axis factor analysis. Principal axis factor analysis is a multivariate procedure which rotates the data such that maximum variabilities are projected onto the axes (Pallant, 2007; Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001). Once the number of factors was determined, the resultant factor matrix was interpreted. To facilitate interpretation, the factors were rotated Diekhoff (1992) 99 stated that the factors which explain the most variance are rotated to

make their meaning clearer. For the purposes of this study the factors were rotated according to the oblique Direct Oblimin criterion. To enhance interpretation of the factor matrix, loadings greater than 0.30 were considered This approach was in line with Diekhoff’s (1992) recommendation that factor loadings of greater than or equal to 0.30 for oblique rotations are salient The relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout was determined by means of Pearson product moment correlations. The correlation is used to explore the strength and direction of a relationship between variables (Pallant, 2007). Following the guidelines of Cohen (1988), correlations of about 0.10 may be regarded as small, correlations of about 030 as moderate, and correlations of 0.50 and higher as large The predictive effects of the Big Five personality factors and burnout were ascertained by means of multiple regression analyses (Kerlinger & Lee, 2000). Multiple regression analysis is

used to predict the variance between the dependent variable and independent variables (Coolican, 2004; Pallant, 2007). Multiple regression permits for multiple predictions in which the influence of each predictor variable is directly proportional to the correlation that exists between the variable and the criterion, and inversely proportional to other predictors (Urbina, 2004). Thus, multiple regression analysis explores the interrelationships among variables and the contribution of each predictor to explaining the variance in the dependent variable (Pallant, 2007; Urbina, 2004). This method was used to determine how much variance in burnout can be explained by personality (Heppner & Heppner, 2004). 4.6 Ethical considerations The proposal for the study was submitted to the Faculty of Humanities Higher Degrees Committee. The ethical considerations were approved by the Committee. Participants were informed about the nature and role of the research, 100 as well as the importance of

their participation in the research. Participants were also informed that participation is free and voluntary, and that they have the right to decline participation if they so choose. In addition they were informed that there are no deleterious consequences following their refusal to participate in the study. Confidentially was strictly upheld, and no personally identifying information was required from the participants. The participants were also required to complete an informed consent form. The participants were informed that the research results would be made available in printed and electronic format at the University of Johannesburg library, and the participants were encouraged to scrutinize the results obtained. In addition, the consent form clearly demarcated that results would possibly be published in a scientific journal. 4.7 Preview of the contents of the following chapter In chapter 5 the results of the data analyses are reported. 101 CHAPTER 5 RESULTS 5.1 Introduction

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout in university students, and also to explore the psychometric properties of the MBI-SS in the South African context. The psychometric properties of the MBI-SS were determined by Cronbach’s alpha coefficients and confirmatory factor analysis. The results of the reliability and validity analyses are presented, followed by the correlation matrix of the Big Five personality traits and the three components of burnout (emotional exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy). Hereafter the results of the multiple regression analyses for each of the dependent variables, namely, emotional exhaustion, cynicism and personal accomplishment are presented. 5.2 The psychometric properties of the MBI-SS This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the MBI-SS, as only two studies have explored this instrument in the South African context (see section 4.422) The descriptive

statistics of the MBI-SS are presented, and this is followed by the results of the reliability analysis and a discussion of the factor analysis of the MBI-SS. 5.21 Descriptive statistics for the MBI-SS The means and standard deviations of the three components of the MBI-SS were determined. The descriptive statistics for the MBI-SS are presented in Table 51 102 Table 5.1 Mean Scores and Standard Deviations of the MBI-SS MBI-SS Scale Minimum Maximum Mean SD Emotional exhaustion 1.00 30.00 14.22 6.50 Cynicism 0.00 24.00 6.15 5.48 Professional efficacy 5.00 36.00 26.10 5.54 High scores on emotional exhaustion and cynicism, and low scores on professional efficacy are indicative of burnout (Schaufeli et al., 2002) Pienaar and Sieberhagen (2005) obtained a mean of 12.97 for emotional exhaustion, 9.94 for cynicism and 1862 for professional efficacy in the student population The mean score for emotional exhaustion in this study is higher than the score obtained by Pienaar and

Sieberhagen (2005). The professional efficacy score in this study is significantly higher and the cynicism score lower than the one reported by Pienaar and Sieberhagen (2005). It thus appears that the students in this sample were experiencing low to average levels of burnout. 5.22 The reliability coefficients of the MBI-SS The reliability coefficients of the MBI-SS were ascertained by means of Cronbach’s alpha coefficients (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001). Cronbach’s alpha determines the extent to which the items of a scale measure the same underlying construct (Pallant, 2007; Urbina, 2004). Alpha values equal to or greater than 0.70 indicate good reliability (Nunnaly & Bernstein, 1994) The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the emotional exhaustion scale in this study was 0.87 The cynicism scale obtained a reliability coefficient of 0.88 and the reliability coefficient of the professional efficacy scale was 0.78 These reliability coefficients are considered to be satisfactory

(Nunnaly & Bernstein, 1994). The alpha coefficient for the newly developed professional inefficacy scale was 0.81 This reliability alpha is higher than the ones reported in previous research Schaufeli and Salanova (2007) found Cronbach alphas of 0.62 for Spanish 103 students and 0.65 for Dutch students Although a better reliability coefficient was obtained for the professional inefficacy scale, the subsequent analyses in the study did not make use of the professional inefficacy scale as no research has been conducted on this scale in the South African context. The researcher made use of the original MBI-SS, which consists of the professional efficacy scale. This allowed for an exploration of the MBI-SS as it currently exists. Furthermore, the reliability coefficients and factor analyses revealed that the two scales appear to be mostly equivalent. Inclusion of the professional inefficacy scale was based on recent research by Bresó et al. (2007) and Salanova and Schaufeli (2007)

which indicated that this scale may be more appropriately suited to the burnout scale, and was thus included in this study based on a theoretical basis. However, due to the limited studies on the professional efficacy scale and the lack of studies exploring this scale in the South African context, the researcher did not include this scale in the analyses. Further research is required into this newly developed scale. 5.23 Confirmatory factor analysis of the MBI-SS The factor analysis of the MBI-SS was conducted by means of confirmatory factor analysis. Factor analysis is used to summarise a set of variables into a smaller set of factors by means of the intercorrelation between variables (Pallant, 2007). Within the broad spectrum of factor analysis, this study made use of principal axis factor analysis. In order to evaluate the factorability of the MBI-SS data, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy was calculated and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity was determined. The

KMO value in this study was 083, exceeding the recommended value of 0.60 and the Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity reached statistical significance, supporting the factorability of the correlational matrix (Pallant, 2007; Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001). In determining the number of factors to be extracted, the Kaiser eigenvalues-greater-than-one criterion and Cattell’s 104 scree test were considered. According to the Kaiser criterion, only factors with eigenvalues of 1.0 or more should be retained (Cramer, 2003) Cattell’s scree test illustrates the number of factors to be extracted by plotting the eigenvalues of the factors on a graph. All factors above the break in the plot are considered to be salient (Pallant, 2007). The Kaiser eigenvalues-greater-than-one criterion and the screeplot suggested three factors to be extracted, and for this reason three factors were extracted in the subsequent analyses. The three-component solution explained a total of 63.4% of the variance, with

factor 1 contributing 35.88%, factor 2 contributing 1665% and factor 3 contributing 1085% The screeplot is presented in Figure 5.1 6 5 Eigenvalue 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Factor Number Figure 5.1 Cattell’s screeplot of the eigenvalues of the MBI-SS 105 12 13 14 15 5.231 Factor rotation To aid in the interpretation of these three factors, the factors were rotated according to the oblique Direct Oblimin criterion. To enhance interpretation of the factor matrix, loadings greater than 0.30 were considered This approach was in line with Diekhoff’s (1992) recommendation that factor loadings of greater than or equal to 0.30 for oblique rotations are salient Table 52 presents the pattern matrix of the Oblimin Rotation with a three-factor solution of the MBI-SS. Table 5.2 Pattern Matrix with Oblimin Rotation of Three-Factor Solution of MBI-SS items Item Pattern coefficients Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 1 0.704 - 0.039 0.018 2 0.789 0.050 - 0.067

3 0.767 0.006 0.055 4 0.653 - 0.057 0.125 5 0.869 0.020 - 0.007 6 0.176 - 0.156 0.662 7 0.211 - 0.088 0.733 8 - 0.008 0.092 0.822 9 - 0.029 0.014 0.837 10 - 0.057 0.565 0.122 11 0.084 0.541 - 0.024 12 - 0.065 0.711 - 0.002 13 - 0.001 0.662 - 0.005 14 0.061 0.467 - 0.325 15 - 0.016 0.691 - 0.055 Note: All values greater than 0.30 are underlined 106 The rotation solution indicated a number of strong loadings with most variables loading substantially on only one factor. Question 14 (“I have learned many interesting things during the course of my studies”) however loaded on two factors. Although this item cross loaded on two factors, the item was not removed from subsequent analyses. 5.232 Correlations of the factors The interfactor correlation coefficients among the three factors ranged from -0.20 (between Factor 1 and 2) to 0.41 (between Factor 1 and 3) In accordance with Cohen’s (1988) guidelines of interpreting correlations,

none of the correlations obtained are considered large (≥ 0.50) indicating that the three factors are measuring separate constructs. The interfactor correlation coefficients are presented in Table 5.3 Table 5.3 Interfactor Correlation Matrix Factor 1 2 3 Emotional exhaustion 1.000 Professional efficacy -0.203 1.000 Cynicism 0.407 -0.357 1.000 5.24 Hypotheses related to the reliability and validity of the MBI-SS The study revealed that the MBI-SS appears to be a reliable and valid instrument for the South African context. The reliability coefficients were found to be satisfactory (alpha coefficients exceeding 0.70), and the confirmatory factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure. As such, the null hypothesis (Ho1) that the MBI-SS is not a valid and reliable instrument in the South African context is rejected. The alternative hypothesis (Ha1) that the MBI-SS is a valid and reliable instrument in the South African context is accepted. 107 5.25 Summary of the

statistical findings of the MBI-SS The data analyses found that the Cronbach reliability alphas of the MBI-SS were 0.87 for emotional exhaustion, 088 for personal accomplishment and 078 for professional efficacy. These reliability alphas are considered satisfactory Cattell’s scree test suggested that three factors be extracted. The eigenvalues indicated that the three-factor solution explained a total of 63.4% of the variance, with factor 1 contributing 35.88%, factor 2 1665% and factor 3 contributing 10.85% The three factors were subsequently rotated according to the oblique Direct Oblimin criterion, where loadings greater than 0.30 were considered Most of the variables loaded on one component respectively. Only question 14 (“I have learned many interesting things during the course of my studies”) was found to load on two components. The factor correlations between the three factors suggested that a three factor structure solution was optimal. Based on the results the null

hypothesis (Ho1) was rejected and the alternative hypothesis accepted (Ha1). 5.3 The relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout The relationships between the Big Five personality traits and burnout were determined by means of Pearson product moment correlations and the predictive effect of personality in burnout was ascertained by means of multiple regression analysis. The following section presents the correlation coefficients among the individual personality traits and burnout, and this is followed by the results pertaining to the predictive effect of personality traits on burnout. 5.31 The correlations between the Big Five personality traits and burnout The relationships between the Big Five personality traits (Neuroticism, Extroversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness) and burnout (emotional exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy) were 108 investigated by determining Pearson product moment correlation coefficients.

According to Tabachnick and Fidell (2001) coefficients greater than 0.30 may be regarded as meaningful. The levels of significance of the correlations were considered at p ≤ 0.05 and p ≤ 001 Analysis of the data in this study revealed several statistically significant correlations, both at the 0.01 and 005 significance levels. Table 54 presents the correlation matrix Table 5.4 Correlation Matrix of the Big Five Personality Traits and Burnout E E N C O A EE CY PA 1.00 N -0.179(*) 1.00 C 0.234(*) -0.169(*) 1.00 O 0.458(*) -0.134(*) 0.330(*) 1.00 A 0.320(*) -0.084 0.230(*) 0.398(*) 1.00 EE -0.129(*) 0.343(*) -0.167(*) -0.096 -0.077 1.00 CY -0.139(*) 0.266(*) -0.229(*) -0.060 -0.174(*) 0.467(*) 1.00 PA 0.211(*) -0.245(*) 0.444(*) 0.250(*) 0.226(*) -0.201(*) -0.376(*) Note: E = Extroversion; N = Neuroticism; C = Conscientiousness; O = Openness to Experience; A = Agreeableness; EE = Emotional exhaustion; CY = Cynicism; PA = Professional

efficacy * Correlation significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) * Correlation significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) Table 5.4 indicates that there are several significant correlations between the personality traits and burnout. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between Extroversion and emotional exhaustion (r = -0.129; p < 005) and Extroversion and cynicism (r = -0.139; p < 005) Furthermore, a statistically significant positive correlation between Extroversion and professional efficacy was found (r = 0.211; p < 001) Although statistically significant, these relationships are not necessarily meaningful based on Tabachnick and Fidell’s (2001) recommendation that coefficients > 0.30 may be regarded as meaningful 109 1.00 Neuroticism demonstrated a statistically significant positive relationship with emotional exhaustion (r = 0.343; p <001) and cynicism (r = 0266; p < 001) respectively, and a statistically significant negative

relationship with professional efficacy (r = -0.245; p < 001) The relationship between Neuroticism and emotional exhaustion may be considered meaningful as it is > 0.30 Although the relationship between Neuroticism and Cynicism is 0.27, it is close to 030 and may thus also be considered meaningful. The relationship between Neuroticism and professional efficacy may not necessarily be regarded as meaningful (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001). Conscientiousness demonstrated a statistically significant negative correlation with emotional exhaustion (r = -0.167; p < 001) and cynicism (r = -0229; p < 0.01) These relationships are statistically significant However, they do not satisfy Tabachnick and Fidell’s (2001) recommendation of coefficients > 0.30 as meaningful. A statistically significant positive correlation between Conscientiousness and professional efficacy (r = 0.444; p < 001) was found, and this may in turn be considered meaningful (Tabachnick & Fidell,

2001). Openness to Experience demonstrated a statistically significant positive relationship with professional efficacy (r = 0.250; p < 001) Although statistically significant, the relationship is not necessarily meaningful based on Tabachnick and Fidell’s (2001) recommendation that coefficients > 0.30 may be regarded as meaningful. Agreeableness showed a statistically significant negative relationship with cynicism (r = -0.174; p < 001) and a statistically significant positive relationship with professional efficacy (r = 0.226; p < 001) These correlations are statistically significant. They do not however satisfy Tabachnick’s and Fidell’s (2001) recommendation that coefficients > 0.30 may be regarded as meaningful 110 5.32 The combined effect of personality traits on burnout Multiple regression analyses were used to assess the ability of personality traits to predict burnout. The independent variables were Extroversion, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Openness

to Experience and Agreeableness. The dependent variables were emotional exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy, respectively. Three separate multiple regression analyses were conducted in order to determine the combined effect of personality on burnout. The results of the multiple regression analyses are presented in Tables 5.5 to 5.10 Table 5.5 Predictive Effect of Personality Traits on Emotional Exhaustion Change Statistics Model R R² Adjusted R² 1 0.365(a) 0133 R² F df1 df2 Change Change 0.118 0.133 8.835 Sig. F Change 5 288 0.000 a Predictors: (Constant), Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Openness to Experience b Dependent Variable: Emotional Exhaustion The results indicate a statistically significant positive relationship between the personality traits and emotional exhaustion, R² = 0.133, F(5, 288) = 8835, p < 0.001 Personality traits explained 133% of the variance in emotional exhaustion. The standardised

regression weights, t-values, p-levels and semipartial correlations of the predictor variables (personality traits) with emotional exhaustion are summarised in Table 5.6 111 Table 5.6 Regression Weights, t-Test and Effect Sizes in the Prediction of Emotional Exhaustion Standardised Model Coefficients T P Correlations Zero- β 1 Constant 3.403 0.001 order Partial Part E -0.038 -0.610 0.543 -0.126 -0.036 -0.033 N 0.316 5.612 0.000 0.343 0.314 0.308 C -0.103 -1.752 0.081 -0.171 -0.103 -0.096 O -0.011 -0.161 0.872 -0.108 -0.009 -0.009 A -0.011 -0.177 0.859 -0.077 -0.010 -0.010 Note: E = Extroversion; N = Neuroticism; C = Conscientiousness; O = Openness to Experience; A = Agreeableness a Predictors: (Constant), Extroversion, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness b Dependent Variable: Emotional Exhaustion Table 5.6 indicates that only Neuroticism (β = 0316, r = 0308, t = 5612, p < 0.001) was

statistically significantly related to emotional exhaustion in the presence of all Big Five personality traits. Although the correlational analysis revealed that there were also statistically significant relationships between Extroversion and emotional exhaustion and Conscientiousness and emotional exhaustion, in the presence of the other traits, it appears that they do not make a unique contribution to the explanation of emotional exhaustion as a component of burnout. The predictive effects of the personality traits and cynicism are presented in Table 5.7 112 Table 5.7 Predictive Effect of Personality Traits on Cynicism Change Statistics Model R R² Adjusted R² R² 2 0.358(a) 0128 F df1 df2 Change Change 0.113 0.128 8.480 Sig. F Change 5 288 0.000 a Predictors: (Constant), Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Openness to Experience b Dependent Variable: Cynicism The results indicate a statistically significant positive relationship

between the personality traits and cynicism, R² = 0.128, F(5, 288) = 8480, p < 0001 Personality traits explained 12.8% of the variance in cynicism The standardised regression weights, t-values, p-levels and semi-partial correlations of the predictor variables (personality traits) with cynicism are summarised in Table 5.8 Table 5.8 Regression Weights, t-Test and Effect Sizes in the Prediction of Cynicism Standardised Model Coefficients t P Correlations Zero- β 2 Constant 3.423 0.001 order Partial Part E -0.068 -1.082 0.280 -0.146 -0.064 -0.060 N 0.227 4.015 0.000 0.266 0.230 0.221 C -0.180 -3.048 0.003 -0.231 -0.177 -0.168 O 0.105 1.598 0.111 -0.066 0.094 0.088 A -0.134 -2.182 0.030 -0.174 -0.128 -0.120 Note: E = Extroversion; N = Neuroticism; C = Conscientiousness; O = Openness to Experience; A = Agreeableness a Predictors: (Constant), Extroversion, Neuroticism, Experience, Agreeableness b Dependent Variable: Cynicism 113

Conscientiousness, Openness to Table 5.8 indicates that Neuroticism (β = 0227, r = 0221, t = 4015, p < 0001) and Conscientiousness (β = -0.180, r = -0168, t = -3048, p < 0005) were statistically significantly related to cynicism in the presence of all Big Five personality traits. Although the correlational analysis revealed that there were also statistically significant relationships between Extroversion and cynicism and Agreeableness and cynicism, in the presence of the other traits, it appears that they do not make a unique contribution to the explanation of burnout. The predictive results of the personality traits and professional efficacy are presented in Table 5.9 Table 5.9 Predictive Effect of Personality Traits on Professional Efficacy Change Statistics Model R R² Adjusted R² 3 0.498(a) 0248 0.235 R² F df1 df2 Change Change 0.248 19.037 Sig. F Change 5 288 0.000 a Predictors: (Constant), Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Extroversion,

Openness to Experience b Dependent Variable: Professional Efficacy The results indicate a statistically significant positive relationship between the personality traits and professional efficacy, R² = 0.248, F(5, 288) = 19037, p < 0.001 Personality traits explained 248% of the variance in professional efficacy The standardised regression weights, t-values, p-levels and semi-partial correlations of the predictor variables (personality traits) with professional efficacy are summarised in Table 5.10 114 Table 5.10 Regression Weights, t-Test and Effect Sizes in the Prediction of Professional Efficacy Standardised Model Coefficients t P Correlations Zero- β 3 Constant 3.919 0.000 order Partial Part E 0.046 0.792 0.429 0.212 0.047 0.040 N -0.157 -3.000 0.003 -0.245 -0.174 -0.153 C 0.368 6.722 0.000 0.445 0.368 0.343 O 0.064 1.044 0.297 0.256 0.061 0.053 A 0.088 1.539 0.125 0.226 0.090 0.079 Note: E = Extroversion; N = Neuroticism; C =

Conscientiousness; O = Openness to Experience; A = Agreeableness a Predictors: (Constant), Extroversion, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness b Dependent Variable: Professional Efficacy Table 5.10 indicates that Neuroticism (β = -0157, r = -0153, t = -3000, p < 0.005) and Conscientiousness (β = 0368, r = 0343, t = 6722, p < 0001) were statistically significantly related to professional efficacy in the presence of all Big Five personality traits. Although the correlational analysis revealed that there were also statistically significant relationships between Extroversion and professional efficacy, Agreeableness and professional efficacy as well as Openness to Experience and professional efficacy, in the presence of the other traits, it appears that they do not make a unique contribution to the explanation of burnout. 5.33 Hypotheses of the relationship between personality traits and burnout The data analyses revealed several significant

relationships between personality traits and burnout. As such, the null hypothesis (Ho2) that there is no statistically 115 significant relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout is rejected, and the alternative hypothesis (Ha2) that there is a statistically significant relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout is accepted. 5.34 Summary of the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout Several statistically significant correlations between the Big Five personality traits and the three burnout components were found in the study. The analysis revealed that Extroversion was negatively related to emotional exhaustion (r = 0.129; p < 005) and cynicism (r = -0139; p < 005), and positively related to professional efficacy (r = 0.211; p < 001) Neuroticism demonstrated a positive relationship with emotional exhaustion (r = 0.343; p <001) and depersonalisation (r = 0.266; p < 001) and a negative relationship

with professional efficacy (r = 0245; p < 001) Conscientiousness demonstrated a negative relationship with emotional exhaustion (r = -0.167; p < 001) and cynicism (r = -0229; p < 001) and a positive relationship with professional efficacy (r = 0.444; p < 001) Openness to Experience demonstrated a positive relationship with professional efficacy (r = 0.25; p < 001) Agreeableness demonstrated a negative relationship with cynicism (r = -0.174; p < 001) and a positive relationship with professional efficacy (r = 0.226; p < 001) Although many of the correlations were statistically significant, the relationships may not necessarily be regarded as meaningful based on Tabachnick and Fidell’s (2001) recommendation that coefficients > 0.30 may be regarded as meaningful The multiple regression analyses revealed that the personality traits were able to explain approximately 13% of the variance in emotional exhaustion (R² = 0.133, F(5, 288) = 8.835, p < 0001) The

personality traits accounted for 128% of the variance in cynicism (R² = 0.128, F(5, 288) = 8480, p < 0001) and almost 25% of the variance in professional efficacy (R² = 0.248, F(5, 288) = 19037, p < 0.001) It appears that in the presence of the other traits only Neuroticism is 116 statistically significantly related to emotional exhaustion (β = 0.316, r = 0308, t = 5.612, p < 0001) In regards to cynicism, Neuroticism (β = 0227, r = 0221, t = 4.015, p < 0001) and Conscientiousness (β = -0180, r = -0168, t = -3048, p < 0.005) were found to be statistically significantly related to the cynicism factor in the presence of the other traits. Neuroticism (β = -0157, r = -0153, t = -3000, p < 0.005) and Conscientiousness (β = 0368, r = 0343, t = 6722, p < 0001) were also found to be statistically significantly related to professional efficacy in the presence of the other traits. Based on the results the null hypothesis (Ho2) was rejected and the alternative

hypothesis (Ha2) accepted. 5.4 Conclusion In this section the results of the data analyses was presented. The results indicate that the MBI-SS is considered a reliable and valid instrument in the South African context and that a statistically significant relationship between personality and burnout exists. 5.5 Preview of the contents of the following chapter The subsequent chapter provides a discussion of the results from the data analyses. Furthermore, an exploration of future directions for study and interventions, as well as the limitations of the study are presented. followed by a conclusion. 117 This is CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 6.1 Introduction The aim of the study was to explore the reliability and construct validity of the MBI-SS, and to determine the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout as well as the predictive effect of the Big Five personality traits on burnout. This chapter discusses the implications of the results presented in

Chapter 5. The findings are discussed in the context of previous research findings with regards to the psychometric properties of the MBI-SS, and the relationship between personality and burnout. Thereafter the limitations and research implications of the study are presented. Directions for future research are subsequently reviewed. This is followed by the conclusion 6.2 Hypotheses The following hypotheses were tested in the study: (Ho1): The MBI-SS is not a valid and reliable instrument in the South African context. (Ha1): The MBI-SS is a valid and reliable instrument in the South African context. (Ho2): There is no statistically significant relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout. (Ha2): There is a statistically significant relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout. 118 6.3 Discussion of the results of the study In this section the results pertaining to the aforementioned hypotheses are discussed. 6.31 Discussion of the reliability

and construct validity of the MBI-SS Hypothesis one is concerned with the psychometric properties of the MBI-SS in the South African context. The psychometric properties of the MBI-SS have received support both internationally and in South Africa (Lingard, 2007; Mostert et al., 2007; Pienaar & Sieberhagen, 2005; Schaufeli et al, 2002) The psychometric properties of the MBI-SS are also supported by the findings from this study. Cronbach alpha coefficients for the MBI-SS in this study were 087 for emotional exhaustion, 0.88 for cynicism, 078 for professional efficacy and 081 for professional inefficacy. As such, the alpha coefficients obtained in the current study are considered satisfactory and the results indicate that the MBI-SS can be considered a reliable instrument in the South African context. Schaufeli et al (2002) explored the Cronbach alpha coefficients in a sample from Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands. In these studies, the alpha coefficients for exhaustion were 0.74,

079 and 080, respectively The alpha coefficients for cynicism were 0.79, 082 and 086, and the alpha coefficients for professional efficacy were 0.76, 069 and 067, respectively In South Africa, Mostert et al (2007) obtained Cronbach alpha coefficients of 0.74 for exhaustion and 068 for cynicism. Pienaar and Sieberhagen (2005) found Cronbach alpha coefficients of 0.79 for emotional exhaustion, 073 for cynicism and 076 for professional efficacy. The results of the current study showed coefficients that are somewhat higher than the aforementioned research. The somewhat higher reliability coefficients in this study may be explained by the demographic characteristics of the sample. Mostert et al (2007) only made use of students in the Economics and Management Sciences faculty, and Pienaar 119 and Sieberhagen (2005) made use of members of the students’ representative council and house committees. Mostert et al (2007) sampled mostly Afrikaans and Setswana speaking students, and Pienaar et

al. (2005) sampled mainly Afrikaans speaking students. The current study included students from a variety of faculty groups, and several different language groups. Reliability coefficients obtained from a measurement instrument are subject to the nature of the sample and the assessment instrument (Urbina, 2004). Thus, demographic characteristics may have affected the reliability coefficients. Mostert et al (2007) randomised the items of the MBI-SS and the engagement questionnaire in order to reduce answering bias and response sets. Thus, the higher Cronbach alpha coefficients in the study could also be explained by answering bias and response sets, as the items in the study were not randomly presented. As already mentioned, the Cronbach alpha coefficient for the professional inefficacy scale in this study was 0.81 Schaufeli and Salanova (2007) found alpha coefficients of 0.62 and 065 for Spanish and Dutch speaking students respectively on this scale. The alpha coefficient in

the current study thus exceeds the alpha coefficients obtained by Schaufeli and Salanova (2007). In discussing the professional inefficacy scale it is important to note that the scale has only recently been introduced to the MBI-SS, and there are limited studies that have made use of this scale. The re-wording of the professional efficacy to professional inefficacy may have changed the meaning of the items for students (Urbina, 2004). In addition, the sample of the study by Schaufeli and Salanova (2007) were Dutch and Spanish speaking students. The re-wording of the professional efficacy scale, as well as the language differences between Dutch, Spanish and English, may have affected the internal consistencies of the professional inefficacy scale (Kanjee, 2005). In the current study, the English speaking students may have more easily grasped the qualitative meaning of the items. The sample in the study by Schaufeli and Salanova (2007) consisted mainly of students in the social sciences

(for 120 example, psychology, sociology, anthropology), with most students studying in the field of psychology. The current study attempted to obtain a more heterogeneous sample of students from various faculties and years of study. The more diverse sample may have increased the Cronbach alpha coefficients as it did not obtain burnout scores from a homogenous sample (Jooste, 2006; Urbina, 2004; Wolfaardt & Roodt, 2005). The construct validity of the MBI-SS was determined by means of confirmatory factor analysis. Several studies have found evidence for a three-factor structure of burnout in the student population (cf. Lingard, 2007; Schaufeli et al, 2002) Lingard (2007) conducted a principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation in order to determine the discriminant validity of the three burnout dimensions. The study found that the items clearly loaded on the expected factors, except for the item “I have become less enthusiastic about my studies”, which loaded on

emotional exhaustion and cynicism (Lingard, 2007). Mostert et al. (2007) applied structural equation modelling to determine the construct validity of the MBI-SS. The study did not include the professional efficacy scale of the MBI-SS. A two factor structure was found, in which only one item “I have become more cynical about the potential usefulness of my studies” was removed. Pienaar and Sieberhagen (2005) also made use of structural equation modelling to determine the validity of the MBI-SS and found that the three-factor structure of burnout was supported. The results of the current study are similar to the aforementioned results, in that a three-factor structure was found. However, the item “I have learned many interesting things during the course of my studies” was found to load on two factors. An inspection of the factor loadings provided by Lingard (2007) reveals that the lowest loading in the pattern matrix after the item “I have become less enthusiastic about my

studies” was the item “I have learnt many interesting things during the course of my studies”. The factor loading was 0582, whereas in the current study the factor loading was 0.467 In regards to this item, Schaufeli 121 et al. (2002) found that instead of a positively loading on efficacy, the modification indices suggested that the item “I have learned many interesting things during the course of my studies“ loads negatively on cynicism. The current study found that this item also loaded negatively on cynicism. This suggests that the item may not fit in the three-factor model. As already mentioned, the results of the factor analysis of the MBI-SS demonstrated a satisfactory fit with the theoretical three-factor structure of burnout. Three factors clearly emerged from the sample Questions one to five had salient loadings on the emotional exhaustion factor. This indicates that the exhaustion component of the MBI-SS is clearly measuring the emotional exhaustion factor of

burnout. Questions six to nine had clear loadings on the cynicism factor, indicating that these questions are measuring the cynicism component of the MBI-SS. With exception to question 14, which loaded on cynicism and professional efficacy, questions 10 to 15 had salient loadings on professional efficacy, indicating that the professional efficacy factor is measured by the MBI-SS. 6.32 Discussion of the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and burnout Hypothesis two was concerned with the relationship between personality and burnout. The data analyses determined that several significant relationships exist between the personality traits and the burnout constructs. Although many of the relationships were statistically significant, only those relationships with coefficients > 0.30 were considered meaningful (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001) The discussion however includes all of the statistically significant relationships. Various studies have demonstrated a

statistically significant relationship between personality and burnout (Bühler & Land, 203; Deary et al., 1996; Miner, 2007; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998; Storm & Rothmann, 2003). Common findings from 122 these studies are that Neuroticism and Extroversion tend to be consistently related to all three of the burnout constructs (Bakker et al., 2006; Piedmont, 1993; Zellars et al., 2000) Although there is less consensus about Openness to Experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, each of the three traits also appears to be related to the burnout constructs (Bakker et al., 2006; Kokkinos, 2007; Zellars et al., 2000) The findings of the current study support the aforementioned findings. In this study, Neuroticism demonstrated a statistically significant positive relationship with emotional exhaustion (r = 0.343; p <001) and cynicism (r = 0.266; p < 001) respectively, and a negative relationship with professional efficacy (r = -0.245; p < 001) These results are in

line with previous research, which have generally found that Neuroticism is related to all three of the burnout constructs (Bakker et al., 2006; Bühler & Land, 2003; Kokkinos, 2007) Bühler and Land (2003) found that Neuroticism demonstrated a positive relationship with emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Similar findings were obtained by Kokkinos (2007) and Bakker et al. (2006) Miner (2007) and Kokkinos (2007) also found a n e g a t i v e relationship between Neuroticism and personal accomplishment. Research has shown that Neuroticism is related to tendencies to experience negative affectivity, and expect the worst from situations (McCrae & Costa, 2006; Watson & Clark, 1992). In addition, individuals scoring higher on Neuroticism tend to experience a sense of apprehension and underestimate their own abilities (Bakker et al., 2006; Zellars et al, 2000) As such, it is possible that students scoring higher on Neuroticism may tend to worry more often about the

outcome of events (such as test and assignment results) than those students scoring lower on Neuroticism. This worry may lead to these students experiencing less satisfaction with their university work. Thus, students scoring higher on Neuroticism may become emotionally exhausted and cynical toward their work more often than those students scoring lower on Neuroticism. Pöhlem, Jonas, 123 Ruf and Harzer (2005) found that examination anxiety accounts for 10% variance in emotional exhaustion. Thus, the tendency toward negative affect in regards to university work may augment experiences of emotional exhaustion for these students. The augmented emotional exhaustion and cynicism may in turn result in reduced feelings of accomplishment at university. Individuals scoring lower on Neuroticism may be more calm and relaxed (McCrae & John, 1992), enabling them to cope better with the demands of university life and allowing the use of more effective coping strategies in dealing with stress

(cf. Bolger & Zuckerman, 1995; Deary et al., 2003) These individuals may also make friends more often than their counterparts and thus have a stronger socialsupport base. This in turn serves as a resource, promoting personal growth and feelings of accomplishment at university (Demerouti et al., 2001) The Pearson product moment correlations indicated a statistically significant relationship between Extroversion and the three respective burnout constructs, namely, emotional exhaustion (r = -0.129; p < 005), cynicism (r = -0139; p < 0.05) and professional efficacy (r = 0211; p < 001) These findings are similar to the results of previous studies mentioned in Chapter 3. Extroversion has been found to consistently demonstrate a relationship to burnout (Bakker et al., 2006; Piedmont, 1993; Zellars et al., 2000) For example, Tomic et al (2004), Kokkinos (2007) and Bakker et al. (2006) demonstrated that Extroversion is negatively related to emotional exhaustion and

depersonalisation/cynicism, and positively related to personal accomplishment/professional efficacy. Individuals scoring high on Extroversion tend to be more people-orientated, optimistic, enthusiastic, and have augmented levels of energy. Furthermore, high scores on Extroversion are related to problem-focused coping and rational action (Bouchard et al., 2004; DeLongis & Holtzman, 2005; McCrae & Costa, 2006; Watson & Clark, 1997; Zellars et al., 2000) It may be possible that students scoring higher on Extroversion tend to engage in social activities more often than 124 students scoring lower on Extroversion. The subsequent social support may act as a resource and buffer the deleterious effects of stress (McCrae & Costa, 2006; Demerouti et al., 2001) These students may also be more optimistic and enthusiastic regarding their work, and therefore be more able to cope with negative events related to their studies. Students scoring higher on Extroversion may experience

emotional exhaustion less frequently due to their tendency toward increased energy, optimism and positive affect (Zellars et al., 2000) Conversely, students scoring lower on Extroversion may tend to remain isolated from their peers, seldom discussing their stressors at university or seeking social contact with their peers (Abouserie, 1994; Friedlander et al., 2007) This in turn may result in augmented experiences of exhaustion and cynicism toward the university and their studies. Individuals who are more extroverted may also be more willing to seek assistance, be it from peers or university staff, when they are experiencing difficulties with their studies. This assistance may help the students to more easily understand their work, and as such may reduce a cynical attitude toward their work from developing. For example, Cushman and West (2006) found that vague teaching and unavailable staff is related to experiences of burnout for students, and as such, seeking assistance from

university staff may reduce experiences of cynicism and increase the students understanding of their work. This in turn may lead to augmented feelings of personal accomplishment. In this study Openness to Experience demonstrated a statistically significant positive relationship with professional efficacy (r = 0.250; p < 001) From previous studies it appears that this factor is positively related to personal accomplishment (Deary et al., 1996; Storm & Rothmann, 2003) The results of this study thus coincide with previous research. Openness to Experience is related to creative thinking and a willingness to undergo new experiences. In addition, individuals measuring high on Openness to Experience tend to make use of more adaptive and flexible coping strategies (Bouchard et al., 2004; 125 DeLongis & Holtzman, 2005; Lee-Baggley et al., 2004; McCrae, 1987; McCrae & Costa, 1986). Students who score high on Openness to Experience may be more likely to attempt creative

solutions to solving their difficulties at university. These individuals may also tend to experience problems at university as a challenge rather than as a bulwark to their studies (Zellars et al., 2000) These factors may contribute to individuals scoring higher on Openness to Experience to undergo less emotional exhaustion and cynicism, and feel an increased sense of personal accomplishment. An individual who experiences a high level of personal accomplishment may also experience more confidence in attempting to master new situations, hereby reducing experiences of burnout from occurring. Agreeableness demonstrated a statistically significant negative relationship with cynicism (r = -0.174; p < 001) and a statistically significant positive relationship with professional efficacy (r = 0.226; p < 001) These findings are supported by Bakker et al. (2006) who found that Agreeableness was positively related to personal accomplishment and Deary et al. (1996) who found that

Agreeableness was negatively related to depersonalisation. Agreeableness is considered the interpersonal aspect of personality. Thus, individuals scoring high on this factor tend to be more pleasant and trusting than others (Digman, 1990; McCrae & Costa, 1989; McCrae & John, 1992; Zellars et al., 2000) Students scoring higher on Agreeableness may be more prone to receive social support and trust people for assistance with their problems at university. This increased social support may serve as a resource, promoting feelings of personal accomplishment and reducing experiences of cynicism toward the university (Demerouti et al., 2001) Jacobs and Dodd (2003) found that reduced social support was positively related to depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment, thus providing support for the aforementioned. Receiving support from the university staff may be similar to receiving support from a supervisor, which has been demonstrated to reduce experiences of stress and

burnout (Bakker & Demerouti, 2006; Bakker et al. 2005, Behson, 2005) 126 These individuals may also be less likely to experience emotional exhaustion due to the social support that is available to them. For example, Tully (2004) found that nursing students who made use of coping strategies such as seeking others’ advice tended to experience lower levels of stress. Individuals who score low on Agreeableness tend to be quarrelsome and difficult to relate to (McCrae & Costa, 2006; McCrae & John, 1992; Zellars et al., 2000) Thus, students scoring lower on Agreeableness may tend to not seek out assistance with their problems due to their lack of trust in others (McCrae & Costa, 2006). This in turn may augment their experiences of emotional exhaustion and cynicism, resulting in reduced feelings of personal accomplishment. Conscientiousness demonstrated a statistically significant negative relationship with emotional exhaustion (r = -0.167; p < 001) and cynicism (r =

-0229; p < 0.01), respectively A statistically significant positive relationship was found between Conscientiousness and professional efficacy (r = 0.444; p < 001) Research has demonstrated that Conscientiousness is positively related to personal accomplishment (Kokkinos, 2007; Piedmont, 1993). In addition, Kokkinos (2007) found that a negative relationship exists between Conscientiousness and depersonalisation. Conscientiousness is linked to problem-solving coping strategies, and an achievement orientation. These individuals are also more likely to be organised and purposeful in their actions (Bouchard et al., 2004; DeLongis & Holtzman, 2005; Lee-Baggley et al, 2004; McCrae & Costa, 2006). The organised and purposeful behaviour of students scoring higher on Conscientiousness may lead to less experience of being overworked, especially during examination periods. These individuals may tend to work consistently, hereby avoiding large amounts of work the day before

an assignment or examination (McCrae & Costa, 2006; Zellars et al., 2000) This in turn may result in increased experiences of personal accomplishment and reduced feelings of depersonalisation and emotional exhaustion. Students scoring lower on 127 Conscientiousness may tend to be compulsive, lazy and impulsive, failing to ensure consistent completion of work, which is a requirement of higher education studies (Abouserie, 1994; Monk & Mahmood, 1999). For example, Dahlin and Runeson (2007) found that higher scores on impulsivity, a facet order of Conscientiousness, was associated with limited strategic planning and goal directedness in relation to student’s studies, which places them at-risk in longterm and demanding education. The aforementioned may lead to increased experiences of emotional exhaustion and cynicism, and also reduced feelings of accomplishment at university. 6.33 Discussion of the predictive effect of the Big Five personality traits on burnout The results of

this study indicated that personality accounts for a significant proportion of the variance in burnout. The personality traits demonstrated a positive relationship with emotional exhaustion (R² = 0.133, F(5, 288) = 8835, p < 0.001), and were able to account for 133% of the total variance in emotional exhaustion. In the presence of all the personality traits, only Neuroticism was statistically significantly related to emotional exhaustion (β = 0.316, r = 0308, t = 5.612, p < 0001 The results of the study revealed that a significant positive relationship exists between the personality traits and cynicism (R² = 0.128, F(5, 288) = 8.480, p < 0001) The personality traits explained 128% of the variance in cynicism. In the presence of all the traits, Neuroticism (β = 0227, r = 0221, t = 4.015, p < 0001) and Conscientiousness (β = -0180, r = -0168, t = -3048, p < 0.005) were statistically significantly related to cynicism The results of this study also found a significant

positive relationship between personality traits and professional efficacy (R² = 0.248, F(5, 288) = 19037, p < 0001) The personality traits explained 24.8% of the variance in professional efficacy Neuroticism (β = 0157, r = -0153, t = -3000, p < 0005) and Conscientiousness (β = 0368, r = 0.343, t = 6722, p < 0001) were statistically significantly related to professional efficacy in the presence of all Big Five personality traits. 128 Burger (2008) indicates that personality is able to account for approximately 10% of the variance in behaviour. In relation to burnout, there is evidence that personality traits are able to predict burnout (Hochwälder, 2006). The results of the current study are similar to previous research. Hochwälder (2006) found that personality traits accounted for 7% of the variance in emotional exhaustion, 3% in depersonalisation and 8% in personal accomplishment. In addition, Neuroticism was found to be positively related to emotional exhaustion,

Agreeableness negatively related to depersonalisation, and Conscientiousness positively related to personal accomplishment (Hochwälder, 2006). The results of the current study are similar to Hochwälder (2006) in that Neuroticism was positively related to emotional exhaustion, and Conscientiousness positively related with professional efficacy. Bakker et al. (2006) made use of stepwise regression analyses and found that Neuroticism was the sole predictor of the personality variables that made a significant prediction of emotional exhaustion. Neuroticism accounted for 13% of the variance in emotional exhaustion and was positively related to emotional exhaustion. Depersonalisation was accounted for by three personality traits, Neuroticism, Extroversion and Autonomy, which together accounted for 17% of the variance in depersonalisation. Neuroticism was positively related to depersonalisation, and Extroversion negatively related to depersonalisation. For personal accomplishment,

Extroversion and Neuroticism were significant predictors of this burnout construct, and together accounted for 19% of the variance. Extroversion was positively related to personal accomplishment and Neuroticism negatively related to personal accomplishment. The findings of the current study are similar to those reported by Bakker et al. (2006) in that Neuroticism was related to emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment. Kokkinos (2007) similarly made use of stepwise regression analyses and found that Neuroticism and Conscientiousness were positively related to emotional 129 exhaustion and Extroversion negatively related to emotional exhaustion. Of the three personality traits, Neuroticism accounted for the most variance in emotional exhaustion. Conscientiousness was the strongest predictor of depersonalisation Neuroticism and Openness to Experience also accounted for some of the variance in this factor. Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience were

negatively related to depersonalisation and Neuroticism positively related to depersonalisation. Conscientiousness, Extroversion and Neuroticism explained approximately 23% of the variance in personal accomplishment. Conscientiousness and Extroversion were positively related to personal accomplishment, and Neuroticism negatively related to personal accomplishment. The results of the current study are similar to Kokkinos’s (2007) results in that Neuroticism was positively related to emotional exhaustion, and Conscientiousness Neuroticism was negatively negatively related related to depersonalisation. to professional In addition, efficacy and Conscientiousness positively related to professional efficacy. Zellars et al. (2000) exploring the role of the five-factor personality traits in burnout in the health care setting, made use of regression analysis to determine the relationship. Zellars et al (2000) found that in the presence of the other traits, only

Neuroticism significantly predicted emotional exhaustion, and was positively related to emotional exhaustion. This finding is similar to Bakker et al (2006), and the results obtained in the current study. In regards to depersonalisation, Extroversion, Agreeableness and Openness to Experience were found to be negatively related to depersonalisation in the presence of the other traits. Bakker et al. (2006) obtained similar results The results of the study differ in relation to Conscientiousness, as Zellars et al. (2000) did not find that this personality trait is significant in relation to depersonalisation. Reduced personal accomplishment was negatively related to Extroversion and Openness to Experience in the presence of the other five-factor traits (Zellars et al., 2000) An interesting result obtained by Zellars et al. (2000) is that Neuroticism was not found to be 130 statistically significant in relation to reduced personal accomplishment; a finding that the aforementioned

researchers and the current study found. In examining the aforementioned findings it is evident that different personality traits account for each of the three burnout constructs. It is important however to note that these studies did not make use of the MBI-SS, but rather the three original MBI versions. Also, different personality measures were used to assess the Big Five personality traits, each of which has different psychometric properties. As such, the small differences noted in the findings could be explained by the different instruments used. The author was unable to find research which has explored the relationship of the Big Five personality traits with the burnout constructs using the MBI-SS. 6.4 Limitations and recommendations All studies are subject to limitations. This section addresses the limitations of the current study and the implications for future research endeavours. Due to the limitations, caution must be used in generalising the results of the present study to

the general population. The sampling technique used in this study was non-random, and participants were selected on their willingness to complete the questionnaires. Thus, the sample was biased toward those students who were more willing to participate. This in turn may bias the sample in the study, and impact on the subsequent results (Gravetter & Forzano, 2003). Students were only selected from one higher education institution, and thus the results cannot be generalised to students from other higher education institutions and geographical locations. Data from other universities may have yielded different results. The students in the study were also limited in terms of language distribution. Although the study included participants speaking an indigenous African language, the majority of the sample consisted of English speaking students. Language is an important 131 factor in the exploration of the psychometric properties of psychological tests, as language differences may

impact on the reliability and validity of the instrument (Urbina, 2004). Survival bias should also be taken into account. Survival bias results in individuals who generally have reduced experiences of burnout remaining at work, whereas those individuals scoring higher levels of burnout tend to leave work (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Survival bias may impact on students, resulting in students leaving tertiary studies before completion. This in turn would impact on the data. The mean level of burnout obtained in the study appears to be low to average, and therefore survival bias should be taken into account. Data from students experiencing greater levels of burnout may have yielded different results. The study did not control for part-time work in the student population in the data analyses. Thus, the results may have been influenced by part-time work Based on the aforementioned limitations, several recommendations for future research are made. Future studies should include random

sampling techniques in exploring burnout in university students, thus addressing bias in sample selection. Studies should explore burnout in various cultural and demographic areas. South Africa is a multi-cultural society As such, studies are required in academic institutes beyond the North-West and Gauteng provinces. Future studies should also sample the various language groups, with particular focus on the traditional African languages. This may assist with the exploration of the psychometric properties of the MBI-SS. Future studies of the psychometric properties of the MBI-SS are greatly needed in South Africa. The two items, “I have become more cynical about the potential usefulness of my studies” and “I have learned many interesting things during the course of my studies“, should also be subject to research endeavours. The newly developed professional inefficacy scale must be explored, as previous research (Schaufeli & Salanova, 2007) suggests that this scale is more

appropriate to the burnout construct. In addition, the higher Cronbach alpha coefficient for this scale compared to the 132 professional efficacy scale requires research attention to validate or refute Schaufeli and Salanova’s (2007) research. Research into factors impacting students’ experience of burnout appears to be limited. The author was only able to obtain one study (Cushman & West; 2006) which explored precursors to burnout in the student population, thus necessitating investigation in this area. As such, qualitative studies should explore precursors to students’ experiences of burnout in the South African context. Such studies may allow for prevention and intervention of burnout in students. Qualitative studies may also set the framework for future quantitative studies pertaining to factors related to burnout in South African university students. The current study found similar results to previous research on the relationship between the Big Five personality

traits and burnout. Future studies should build upon this research and explore the aforementioned relationship in a variety of student population groups. Personality constructs beyond the trait approach should also be included in future studies. The antithesis of burnout, namely engagement, which was not included in the current study, may also be included in studies exploring the relationship of personality with burnout. Such an inclusion would allow for a salutogenic approach to personality research, and would also be in line with the current trend in burnout research, namely, the focus on engagement (Schaufeli & Salanova, 2007; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004). The results of all the suggested research would allow for greater insight into students’ experiences of burnout, as well as allowing for future preventative and intervention strategies. 133 6.5 Implications of the study This investigation indicates the importance of taking student burnout into account. The results

suggest that students do experience burnout, and that personality traits are related to experiences of burnout. It may be beneficial to explore personality constructs in students who are experiencing high levels of burnout. Knowledge of the impact of personality traits on burnout may assist with intervention programmes, such as addressing deleterious coping strategies and cognitive appraisals. Knowledge of personality traits in relation to burnout may also assist with preventative counselling. Psycho-educational and life skill programmes could include personality measures, allowing students to gain insight into their own risks and resiliencies in relation to burnout. This would allow students to better monitor their experiences of exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy. The importance of a valid and reliable instrument to measure burnout in university students has been demonstrated in the study. Not only does this meet the ethical requirements of the Professional Board of

Psychology, but it is also in line with the best practice of test use. The study also provides evidence that the professional inefficacy scale may be more suited to the burnout construct. The notion that burnout occurs in students requires a reliable and valid instrument to explore students burnout, as many students seeking counselling services may be experiencing several of the burnout symptoms (Jacobs & Dodd, 2003). 6.5 Conclusion The findings of this study, in context with past research, have significant implications with regards to burnout research. Historically, burnout research was limited to the human-service fields (Schaufeli & Buunk, 2003; Schaufeli et al., 1996). However, it has become clear that students can also experience burnout (Schaufeli et al., 2002) Although students do not hold formal employment, their 134 student based activities can be considered their job (Bresó et al., 2007) Burnout may have deleterious consequences on students’ well-being,

including reduced academic performance, impaired memory, diminished self-esteem, exhaustion and intentions to leave university prematurely (Gauché, 2006; Jacobs & Dodd, 2003; Law, 2007; Meier & Schmeck, 1985; Schaufeli et al., 2002) Students are likely to experience three to four years of intense and difficult studies. With the escalating costs of university study, they cannot afford to leave university prematurely. Not only will this negatively impact on the student, but also on the economy and well-being of South Africa as a whole. In light of the aforementioned, it is clear that interventions are required to prevent students experiencing burnout. Personality is able to account for approximately 10% of the variance in behaviour (Burger, 2008), and as such, knowledge of a students personality may assist in future interventions with students who have augmented experiences of burnout. Unfortunately, the relationship between personality and burnout has not received much

empirical attention, both internationally and in South Africa (Kokkinos, 2007; Maslach, 1993, Storm & Rothmann, 2003). The current study explored the psychometric properties of the MBI-SS and the relationship between personality traits and burnout. Accordingly, it appears that the MBI-SS is both a reliable and valid instrument in the South African context. Furthermore, it appears that there is a statistically significant relationship between personality and burnout, and that personality is able to account for much of the variance in burnout. Further research is required into the psychometric properties of the MBI-SS in South Africa, and especially in regards to the professional inefficacy scale. The relationship between personality and burnout also provided support that knowledge of a student’s personality traits may assist with subsequent intervention programmes. 135 Based on the aforementioned findings and the deleterious consequences of burnout for both students and higher

education institutions, Neumann et al. (1990, pp 20-21) may be correct in asserting that “[r]esearch on students’ burnout in colleges may emerge as one of the promising areas of investigation in higher education.” 136 References Abouserie, R. (1994) Sources and levels of stress in relation to locus of control and self-esteem in university students. Educational Psychology, 14, 323-331 AbuAlRub, R.F (2004) Job stress, job performance, and social support among hospital nurses. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 36 (1), 73-78 Agius, R.M, Blenkin, H, Deary, IJ, Zealley, HE & Wood, RA (1996) Survey of perceived stress and work demands on consultant doctors. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 53, 217-224. Ahola, K., Honkonen, T, Pirkola, S, Isometsä, E, Kalimo, R, Nykyri, E, et al (2006). Alcohol dependence in relation to burnout among the Finnish working population. Addiction, 101, 1438-1443 Ajzen, I. (2005) Attitudes, personality and behaviour (2nd ed) Berkshire: Open

University Press. Allen, T.D, McManus, SE & Russell, JEA (1999) Newcomer socialization and stress: Formal peer relationships as a source of support. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54, 453-470. Allport, G.W (1937) Personality A psychological interpretation London: Constable & Company. Allport, G.W (1961) Pattern and growth in personality New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston. 137 Allport, G.W (1966) Traits revisited In HS Friedman and MW Schustack (Eds.) (2001) Readings in personality classic theories and modern research (pp 161-172). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon Allport, G.W & Odbert, HS (1936) Trait-names: A psycho-lexical study Psychological Monographs, 47, No. 211 Antonovsky, A. (1987) Unravelling the mystery of health: How people manage stress and stay well. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Aristotle. (nd) Aristotle’s ethics (J Gillies, Trans) New York: Routledge (Original work published n.d) Arsenault, A., Dolan, SL & van Ameringen, MR (1991) Stress and mental

strain in hospital work. Exploring the relationship beyond personality Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 12, 483-493. Bakker, A.B (in press) Building engagement in the workplace In RJ Burke and C.L Cooper (Eds) The peak performing organization (pp 1-44) London: Routledge. Bakker, A.B & Demerouti, E (2006) The job demands-resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22 (3), 309-328 Bakker, A.B, Demerouti, E & Euwema, MC (2005) Job resources buffer the impact of job demands on burnout. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 10 (2), 170-180. Bakker, A.B, Demerouti, E & Schaufeli, WB (2002) Validation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey: An internet study. Anxiety, Stress and Coping, 15, 245-260. 138 Bakker, A.B, Demerouti, E & Schaufeli, WB (2003) Dual processes at work in a call centre: An application of the job demands - resources model. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 12 (4), 393-417. Bakker, A.B,

Demerouti, E & Verbeke, W (2004) Using the job demandsresources model to predict burnout and performance Human Resource Management, 43 (1), 83-104 Bakker, A.B, van der Zee, KI, Lewig, KA & Dollard, MF (2006) The relationship between the Big Five personality factors and burnout: A study among volunteer counselors. The Journal of Social Psychology, 146, 31-50 Balogun, J.A, Pellegrini, EA, Miller, TM & Katz, JS (1999) Pattern of physical therapist students’ burnout within an academic semester. Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 13 (1), 12-17. Behson, S.J (2005) The relative contribution of formal and informal organizational work-family support. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 66, 487-500 Bekker, M.HJ, Croon, MA & Bressers, B (2005) Childcare involvement, job characteristics, gender and work attitudes as predictors of emotional exhaustion and sickness absence. Work and Stress, 19 (3), 221-237 Bernhard, H.C, II (2007) A survey of burnout among college music majors

College Student Journal, 41 (2), 392-402. Berg, A., Hansson, UW & Hallberg, IR (2008) Nurses’ creativity, tedium and burnout during 1 year of clinical supervision and implementation of individually planned nursing care: Comparisons between a war for severely demented patients and a similar control ward. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 20 (4), 742749 139 Bilge, F. (2006) Examining the burnout of academics in relation to job satisfaction and other factors. Social Behaviour and Personality, 34 (9), 11511160 Block, J. (1995) A contrarian view of the five-factor approach to personality description. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 187-215 Bolger, N. & Zuckerman, A (1995) A framework for studying personality in the stress process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69 (5), 890-902 Booth-Kewley, S. & Vickers, RR (1994) Associations between major domains of personality and health behaviour. Journal of Personality, 62 (3), 281-298 Bouchard, G., Guillemette, A &

Landry-Léger, N (2004) Situational and dispositional coping: An examination of their relation to personality, cognitive appraisals, and psychological distress. European Journal of Personality, 18, 221238 Boyle, A.B, Grap, MJ, Younger, J & Thornby, D (1991) Personality hardiness, ways of coping, social support and burnout in critical care nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 16, 850-857. Brannon, L. & Feist, J (2004) Health psychology: An introduction to behavior and health (5th ed.) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning Bresó, E., Salanova, M & Schaufeli, WB (2007) In search of the ‘third dimension’ of burnout: Efficacy or inefficacy? Applied Psychology: An International Review, 56, 460-478. Brody, N. & Ehrlichman, H (1998) Personality psychology The science of individuality. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall 140 Bühler, K.E & Land, T (2003) Burnout and personality in intensive care: An empirical study. Hospital Topics, 81, 5-12 Burger, J.M (2008)

Personality (7th ed) Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth Burisch, M. (1993) In search of theory: Some ruminations on the nature and etiology of burnout. In WB Schaufeli, C Maslach and T Marek (Eds) Professional burnout. Recent developments in theory and research (pp 75-93) Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis. Buss, A.H (1989) Personality as traits American Psychologist, 44, 1378-1388 Buss, D.M (1990) Toward a biologically informed psychology of personality Journal of Personality, 58, 1-16. Buunk, B.P & Schaufeli, WB (1993) Burnout: A perspective from social comparison theory. In WB Schaufeli, C Maslach and T Marek (Eds) Professional burnout. Recent developments in theory and research (pp 53-66) Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis. Byrne, B.M (1993) The Maslach Burnout Inventory: Testing for factorial validity and invariance across elementary intermediate and secondary teachers. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 66, 197-212. Carroll, L. (1865/1984) Alice’s

adventures in wonderland Middlesex: Puffin Books, Penguin Books. Cattell, R.B (1945) The description of personality: Principles and findings in a factor analysis. The American Journal of Psychology, 58, 69-90 141 Cattell, R.B (1980) Personality and learning theory, a systems theory of maturation and structured learning (Vol. 2) New York: Springer Publishing Company. Cattell, R.B, Eber, HW & Tatsuoka, MM (1970) Handbook for the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF). Champaign, IL Institute for Personality and Ability Testing. Cavanaugh, J.C & Blanchard-Fields, F (2006) Adult development and aging (5th ed.) Belmont, CA: Thomson Higher Education Cherniss, C. (1980a) Professional burnout in the human service organizations New York: Praeger. Cherniss, C. (1980b) Staff burnout Job stress in the Human Services Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE Church, A.T (2001) Personality measurement in cross-cultural perspective Journal of Personality, 69, 979-1006. Cloninger, S.C (2000)

Theories of personality: Understanding persons (3rd ed) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Cohen, J. (1988) Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Cohen, S. & Wills, TA (1985) Stress, social support, and the buffering process Psychological Bulletin, 98, 310-357. Coolican, H. (2004) Research methods and statistics in psychology (4th ed) London: Hodder & Stoughton. 142 Cordes, C.L & Dougherty, TW (1993) A review and an integration of research on job burnout. The Academy of Management Review, 18 (4), 621-656 Costa, P.T, Jr & McCrae, RR (1988) Personality in adulthood: A six-year longitudinal study of self-reports and spouse ratings on the NEO personality inventory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 853-863 Costa, P.T, Jr & McCrae, RR (1995) Primary traits of Eysenck’s P-E-N system: Three- and five-factor solutions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 308-317. Costa, P.T, Jr &

McCrae, RR (1997) Longitudinal stability of adult personality In R. Hogan, J Johnson and SR Briggs (Eds) Handbook of Personality Psychology (pp. 269-290) San Diego, CA: Academic Press Costa, P.T, Jr & McCrae, RR (1998) Six approaches to the explication of facet-level traits examples from conscientiousness. European Journal of Personality, 12, 117-134. Cramer, D. (2003) Advanced quantitative analysis New York: Open University Press. Cunradi, C.B, Greiner, BA, Ragland, DR & Fisher, JM (2003) Burnout and alcohol problems among urban transit operators in San Francisco. Addictive Behaviors, 28, 91-109. Cushman, S. & West, R (2006) Precursors to college student burnout: Developing a typology of understanding. Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, 7 (1), 23-31. 143 Dahlin, M.E & Runeson, B (2007) Burnout and psychiatric morbidity among medical students entering clinical training: A three year prospective questionnaire and interview-based study. Biomed Central

Medical Education, 7, 6 Davis, K.D, Crouter, AC & McHale, SM (2006) Implications of shift work for parent-adolescent relationships in dual-earner families. Family Relations, 55 (4), 450-461. Davison, G.C, Neale, JM & Kring, AM (2004) Abnormal psychology (9th ed) Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Deary, I.J, Blenkin, H, Agius, RM, Endler, NS, Zealley, H & Wood, R (1996) Models of job-related stress and personal achievement among consultant doctors. British Journal of Psychology, 87, 3-29 Deary, I.J, Watson, R & Hogston, R (2003) A longitudinal cohort study of burnout and attrition in nursing students. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 43 (1), 71-81. De Bruin, G.P (2005) Personality assessment In C Foxcroft and G Roodt (Eds.) An introduction to psychological assessment in the South African context (2nd ed.) (pp 153-166) Cape Town: Oxford University Press DeLongis, A. & Holtzman, S (2005) Coping in context: The role of stress, social support, and personality in coping. Journal of

Personality, 73, 1633-1656 Demerouti, E. & Bakker, AB (in press) The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory: A good alternative to measure burnout and engagement. In JRB Halbesleben (Ed.) Handbook of stress and burnout in health care (np) New York: Nova Science Publishers. 144 Demerouti, E., Bakker, AB, Nachreiner, F & Schaufeli, WB (2000) A model of burnout and life satisfaction amongst nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 32 (2), 454-464. Demerouti, E., Bakker, AB, Nachreiner, F & Schaufeli, WB (2001) The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86 (3), 499-512. Demerouti, E., Geurts, SAE, Bakker, AB & Euwema, M (2004) The impact of shift-work on work-home conflict, job attitudes and health. Ergonomics, 47 (9), 987-1002. De Raad, B. (1992) The replicabilty of the Big Five personality dimensions in three word-classes of the Dutch language. European Journal of Personality, 6, 15-29. De Raad, B. & Barelds, DPH (2008) A new taxonomy of Dutch

personality traits based on a comprehensive and unrestricted list of descriptors. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94 (2), 347-364. De Raad, B. & Peabody, D (2005) Cross-culturally recurrent personality factors: Analyses of three factors. European Journal of Personality, 19, 451-474 Dickens, C. (nd) A child’s history of England London & Glasgow: Collins ClearType Press Diekhoff, G. (1992) Statistics for the social and behavioral sciences: Univariate, bivariate, multivariate. Iowa: WmC Brown Publishers Digman, J.M (1989) Five robust trait dimensions: Development, stability, and utility. Journal of Personality, 57, 195-214 145 Digman, J.M (1990) Personality structure: Emergence of the five-factor model Annual Review Psychology, 41, 417-440. Digman, J.M & Inouye, J (1986) Further specification of the five robust factors of personality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 116-123 Duckworth, A.L, Steen, TA & Seligman, MEP (2005) Positive

psychology in clinical practice. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1, 629-651 Dyer, C. (1995) Beginning research in psychology A practical guide to research methods and statistics. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers Dyrbye L.N, Thomas, MR, Huschka, MM, Lawson, KL, Novotny, PJ, Sloan, J.A, et al (2006) A multicentre study of burnout, depression, and quality of life in minority and non-minority US medical students. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 81, 1435-1442. Dyrbye, L.N, Thomas, MR & Shanafelt, TD (2005) Medical student distress: Causes, consequences, and proposed solutions. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 80, 1613-1622. Edelwich, J. & Brodsky, A (1980) Burn-out: Stages of disillusionment in the helping professions. New York: Human Science Press Ehrenreich, J.H (1997) Personality theory: A case of intellectual and social isolation. The Journal of Psychology, 131, 33-45 Ellingsen, A., Bener, A & Gehani, A (2007) Study of shift work and risk of coronary events. The Journal of the

Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 127 (6), 265-268. 146 Embriaco, N., Azoulay, E, Barrau, K, Kentish, N, Pochard, F, Loundou, A, et al. (2007) High level of burnout in intensivists Prevalence and associated factors. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 175 (7), 686-692. Employment Equity Act (1998). Government Gazette (No 21583) Evans, B.K & Fischer, DG (1993) The nature of burnout: A sample of the three-factor model of burnout in human service and non-human service samples. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 66, 29-38. Eysenck, H.J (1960) The structure of human personality London: Methuen & Co. Eysenck, H.J (1991) Dimensions of personality: The biosocial approach to personality. In HS Friedman and MW Schustack (Eds) (2001) Readings in personality. Classic theories and modern research (pp 69-77) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Eysenck, M.W (1994) Individual differences: Normal and abnormal East Sussex: Lawrence Erlbaum

Associates. Fenwick, R. & Tausig, M (2001) Scheduling stress: Family and health outcomes of shift work and schedule control. The American Behavioural Scientist, 44 (7), 1179-1199. Firth, H. & Britton, P (1989) ‘Burnout’, absence and turnover amongst British nursing staff. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 62, 55-59 147 Fischer, H.J (1983) A psychoanalytic view of burnout In BA Farber (Ed) Stress and burnout in the human service professions (pp. 40-45) New York: Pergamon. Fiske, D.W (1971) Measuring the concepts of personality Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company. Foxcroft, C., Roodt, G & Abrahams, F (2005) The practice of psychological assessment: Controlling the use of measures, competing values, and ethical practice standards. In C Foxcroft and G Roodt (Eds) An introduction to psychological assessment in the South African context (2nd ed.) (pp 69-82) Cape Town: Oxford University Press. Freud, S. (1912) My views on the role of sexuality in the etiology of the

Neuroses. In HS Friedman and MW Schustack (Eds) (2001) Readings in personality. Classic theories and modern research (pp 1-6) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Freudenberger, H.J (1974) Staff burn-out Journal of Social Issues, 30, 159165 Freudenberger, H.J & Richelson, G (1980) Burn-out The high cost of high achievement. New York: Anchor Press Friedlander, L.J, Reid, GJ, Shupak, N & Cribbie, R (2007) Social support, self-esteem, and stress as predictors of adjustment to university among first-year undergraduates. Journal of College Student Development, 48, 259-275 Friedman, H.S & Schustack, MW (2003) Personality Classic theories and modern research (2nd ed.) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon 148 Galen. (1952) On the natural faculties (AJ Brock, Trans) Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica. (Original work published nd) Garden, A.M (1987) Depersonalization: A valid dimension of burnout? Human Relations, 40 (9), 545-560. Gauché, C. (2006) Burnout and engagement in a South African

student sample A psychometric analysis Unpublished master’s thesis, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa. Goldberg, L.R (1990) An alternative “description of personality”: The Big-Five factor structure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 1216-1229 Golembiewski, R.T & Munzenrider, RF (1988) Phases of burnout: Developments in concepts and applications. New York: Praeger Goodwin, C.J (2008) Research in psychology Methods and design (5th ed) Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Gravetter, F. J & Forzano, LB (2003) Research methods for the behavioral sciences. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning Graziano, W.G & Eisenberg, N (1997) Agreeableness: A dimension of personality. In R Hogan, J Johnson and SR Briggs (Eds) Handbook of Personality Psychology (pp. 795-824) San Diego: Academic Press Greene, G. (1961) A burnt-out case London: Heinemann Greenglass, E.R & Burke, RJ (1988) Work and family precursors of burnout in teachers: Sex differences. Sex

Roles, 18 (3/4), 215-229 149 Guilford, J.P (1975) Factors and factors of personality Psychological Bulletin, 82, 802-814. Guyer, P. (2006) Kant New York: Routledge Halbesleben, J.RB & Buckley, R (2006) Social comparison and burnout: The role of relative burnout and received social support. Anxiety, Stress and Coping, 19 (3), 259-278. Handy, J.A (1988) Theoretical and methodological problems within occupational stress and burnout. Human Relations, 41, 351-369 Harrison, W.D (1983) A social competence model of burnout In BA Farber (Ed.) Stress and burnout in the human service professions (pp 29-39) New York: Pergamon. Haslam, N. (2007) Introduction to personality and intelligence London: Sage Publications. Health Professions Council of South Africa (2002). Policy on the classification of psychometric measuring devices, instruments and techniques. (Form 208) Heaven, P.CL & Pretorius, A (1998) Personality structure among black and white South Africans. The Journal of Social

Psychology, 138, 664-667 Helson, R., Kwan, VSY, John, OP & Jones, C (2002) The growing evidence for personality change in adulthood: Findings from research with personality inventories. Journal of Research in Personality, 36, 287-306 Henss, R. (1995) From Aal to Zyniker Personality descriptive type nouns in the German language. European Journal of Personality, 9, 135-145 150 Heppner, P.P & Heppner, MJ (2004) Writing and publishing your thesis, dissertation & research. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole-Thomson Learning Heppner, P.P, Kivlighan, DM, Jr & Wampold, BE (1999) Research design in counselling (2nd ed.) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company Hergenhahn, B.R (2005) An introduction to the history of psychology (5th ed) Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. Heuchert, J.WP, Parker, WP, Stumpf, H & Myburgh, CPH (2000) The fivefactor model of personality in South African college students The American Behavioural Scientist, 44, 112-129. Hills, P., Francis, LJ & Rutledge,

CJF (2004) The factor structure of a measure of burnout specific to clergy, and its trail application with respect to some individual personal differences. Review of Religious Research, 46, 27-42 Hippocrates. (1952) Hippocratic writings (F Adams, Trans) Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica. (Original work published nd) Hobfall, S.E & Freedy, J (1993) Conservation of resources: A general stress theory applied to burnout. In WB Schaufeli, C Maslach and T Marek (Eds) Professional burnout. Recent developments in theory and research (pp 115129) Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis Hobfall, S.E & Shirom, A (1993) Stress and burnout in the workplace In RT Golembiewski (Ed.) Handbook or organizational behavior New York: Marcel Dekker. Hochschild, A.R (1983) The managed heart Commercialization of human feeling. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press 151 Hochwälder, J. (2006) An empirical exploration of the effect of personality on general and job-related mental ill health. Social

Behaviour and Personality, 34, 1051-1070. Hofstee, W.KB, Kiers, HAL, De Raad, B, Goldberg, LR & Ostendorf, F (1997). A comparison of big-five structures of personality traits in Dutch, English, and German. European Journal of Personality, 11, 15-31 House, J.S (1981) Work stress and social support Reading, MA: AddisonWesley Jackson, D.N & Paunonen, SV (1980) Personality structure and assessment Annual Review Psychology, 31, 503-551. Jackson, L.TB, Rothmann, S & van de Vijver, FJR (2006) A model of workrelated well-being for educators in South Africa Stress and Health, 22, 263-274 Jacobs, S.R & Dodd, DK (2003) Student burnout as a function of personality, social support, and workload. Journal of College Student Development, 44 (3), 291-303. Jansen, N.WH, van Amelsvoort, LGPM, Kristensen, TS, van den Brandt, P.A & Kant, IJ (2003) Work schedules and fatigue: A prospective cohort study Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 60 (Supp 1), 147-153. Jansen, P.PM, Peeters,

MCW, de Jonge, J, Houkes, I & Tummers, ER (2004). Specific relationships between job demands, job resources and psychological outcomes and the mediating role of negative work-home interference. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 65, 411-429 152 Jooste, M.JL (2006) Introduction to psychological testing and assessment in South Africa. University of Johannesburg: UJ Pers Jordaan, I., Spangenberg, J, Watson, M & Fouché, P (2007) Burnout and its correlates in South African clinical and counselling psychologists. Acta Academia, 39 (1), 176-201. Jung, C.G (1936) Psycholgische typologie [Psychological typology] In H Read, M. Fordham, G Adler and W McGure (Eds) The collected works of CG Jung (Vol. 6) London: Routledge and Kegan Paul Kanjee, A. (2005) Cross-cultural test adaptation and translation In C Foxcroft and G. Roodt (Eds) Am introduction to psychological assessment in the South African context (2nd ed.) (pp 57-66) Cape Town: Oxford University Press Karasek, R.A, Jr (1979) Job

demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 285-308 Karger, H.J (1981) Burnout as alienation Social Science Review, 55, 270-283 Kerlinger, F.N, & Lee, HB (2000) Foundations of behavioral research Fort Worth: Harcourt. Kilfedder, C.J, Power, KG & Wells, TJ (2001) Burnout in psychiatric nursing Journal of Advanced Nursing, 34 (3), 383-396. Koeske, G.F, Kirk, SA & Koeske, RD (1993) Coping with job stress: Which strategies work best. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 66, 319-335. 153 Kokkinos, C.M (2007) Job stressors, personality and burnout in primary school teachers. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 229-243 Koustelios, A. (2001) Burnout among Greek sport centre employees Sport Management Review, 4, 151-163. Kulik, L. (2006) Burnout among volunteers in the social services: The impact of gender and employment status. Journal of Community Psychology, 34, 541-561

Larsen, R.J & Buss, DM (2002) Personality psychology: Domains of knowledge about human behaviour (1st ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Law, D.W (2007) Exhaustion in university students and the effect of coursework involvement. Journal of American College Health, 55 (4), 239-245 Lazarus, R.S & Folkman, S (1984) Stress, appraisal and coping New York: Springer Publishing Company. Lazuras, L. (2006) Occupational stress, negative affectivity and physical health in special and general education teachers in Greece. British Journal of Special Education, 33 (4), 204-209. Lee, R.T & Ashforth, BE (1996) A meta-analytic examination of the correlates of the three dimensions of job burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81 (2), 123-133. Lee-Baggley, D., Preece, M & DeLongis, A (2005) Coping with interpersonal stress: Role of Big Five traits. Journal of Personality, 73, 1141-1180 154 Leiter, M.P (1989) Conceptual implications of two models of burnout A response to

Golembiewski. Group & Organizational Studies, 14 (1), 15-22 Leiter, M.P (1993) Burnout as a developmental process: Consideration of models. In WB Schaufeli, C Maslach and T Marek (Eds) Professional burnout. Recent developments in theory and research (pp 237-249) Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis. Leiter, M.P & Maslach, C (1988) The impact of interpersonal environment on burnout and organizational commitment. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 9, 297-308. Leiter, M.P & Maslach, C (2004) Areas of worklife: A structured approach to organizational predictors of job burnout. In P Perrewé and DC Ganster (Eds) Research in occupational stress and well being (pp. 91-134) Oxford: Elsevier Leiter, M.P & Schaufeli, WB (1996) Consistency of the burnout construct across occupations. Anxiety, Stress and Coping, 9 (3), 229-243 Leiter, M.P & Shaughnessy, K (in press) The areas of worklife model of burnout” Tests of mediation relationships. Ergonomia: An International Journal

Le Roux, A.M (2004) The validation of two burnout measures in the South African earthmoving equipment industry. Unpublished master’s thesis, NorthWest University, Potchefstroom, South Africa Lewig, K.A, Xanthopoulou, D, Bakker, AB, Dollard, MF & Metzer, JC (2007) Burnout and connectedness among Australian volunteers: A test of the job demands-resources model. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 71, 429-445 155 Liebert, R.M & Liebert, LL (1998) Personality strategies and issues (8th ed) Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Lindholm, M. (2006) Working conditions, psychosocial resources and work stress in nurses and physicians in chief managers’ positions. Journal of Nursing Management, 14, 300-309. Lindsfors, P.M, Nurmi, KE, Meretoja, OA, Luukkonen, RA, Viljanen, AM, Leino, T.J, et al (2006) On-call stress among Finnish anaesthetists Anaesthesia, 61, 856-866. Lingard, H. (2007) Conflict between paid work and study: Does it impact upon students’ burnout and satisfaction with

university life? Journal for Education in the Built Environment, 2 (1), 90-109. Lingard, H.C, Yip, B, Rowlinson, S & Kvan, T (2007) The experience of burnout among future construction professionals: A cross-national study. Construction Management and Economics, 25, 345-357. Llorens, S., Bakker, AB, Schaufeli, W, & Salanova, M (2006) Testing the robustness of the job demands-resources model. International Journal of Stress Management, 14 (2), 121-141. Loehlin, J.C, McCrae, RR, Costa, PT, Jr & John, OP (1998) Heritabilites of common and measure-specific components of the Big Five personality factors. Journal of Research in Personality, 32, 431-453. Loehlin, J.C, Neiderhiser, JM & Reiss, D (2003) The behaviour genetics of personality and the NEAD study. Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 373387 156 Maddi, S.R (1996) Personality theories A comparative analysis (6th ed) Long Grove, IL: Waveland. Maslach, C. (1993) Burnout: A multidimensional perspective In WB

Schaufeli, C. Maslach and T Marek (Eds) Professional burnout Recent developments in theory and research (pp. 19-32) Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis Maslach, C. & Jackson, SE (1981) The measurement of experienced burnout Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 2 (2), 99-113. Maslach, C. & Jackson, SE (1982) After-effects of job-related stress: Families as victims. Journal of Occupational Behaviour, 3, 63-77 Maslach, C. & Jackson, SE (1996) Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS). In C Maslach, SE Jackson and MP Leiter Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual (3rd ed.) Mountain View, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. Maslach, C., Jackson, SE & Leiter, MP (1996a) The Maslach Burnout Inventory manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press Maslach, C., Jackson, S & Schwab, RL (1996b) Maslach Burnout Inventory Educators Survey (MBI-ES) In C Maslach, SE Jackson & MP Leiter Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual (3rd ed.) Mountain View, CA: Consulting

Psychologists Press. Maslach, C. & Leiter, MP (1997) The truth about burnout: How organizations cause personal stress and what to do about it. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Maslach, C. & Schaufeli, WB (1993) Historical and conceptual development of burnout. In WB Schaufeli, C Maslach and T Marek (Eds) Professional 157 burnout. Recent developments in theory and research (pp 1-16) Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis. Maslach, C., Schaufeli, WB & Leiter, MP (2001) Job burnout Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397-422. Matthews, G., Deary, IJ & Whiteman, MC (2003) Personality traits (2nd ed) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. McAdams, D.P (1992) The five-factor model in personality: A critical appraisal Journal of Personality, 60, 329-361. McAdams, D.P (1995) What do we know when we know a person? Journal of Personality, 63, 363-395. McAdams, D.P (2006) The person A new introduction to personality psychology (4th ed.) Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley McCrae, R.R (1987)

Creativity, divergent thinking, and openness to experience Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 1258-1265. McCrae, R.R (1990) Traits and trait names: How well is openness represented in natural languages? European Journal of Personality, 4, 119-129. McCrae, R.R (1994) Openness to experience: Expanding the boundaries of factor V. European Journal of Personality, 8, 251-272 McCrae, R.R (2001) Trait psychology and culture: Exploring intercultural comparisons. Journal of Personality, 69, 819-846 158 McCrae, R.R (2002) NEO-PI-R data from 36 cultures: Further intercultural comparisons. In RR McCrae and J Allik (Eds) The five-factor model of personality across cultures (pp. 105-125) New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum McCrae, R.R (2004) Human nature and culture: A trait perspective Journal of Research in Personality, 383, 3-14. McCrae, R.R (2005) Personality structure In VJ Derlega, BA Winstead and W.H Jones Personality Contemporary theory and research (3rd ed) (pp 192216)

Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth McCrae, R.R & Costa, PT, Jr (1986) Personality, coping, and coping effectiveness in an adult sample. Journal of Personality, 54, 385-405 McCrae, R.R & Costa, PT, Jr (1987) Validation of the five-factor model of personality across instruments and observers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 81-90. McCrae, R.R & Costa, PT, Jr (1989) Reinterpreting the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator from the perspective of the five-factor model of personality. Journal of Personality, 57, 17-40. McCrae, R.R & Costa, PT, Jr (1991) The NEO Personality Inventory: Using the five-factor model in counseling. Journal of Counseling and Development, 69, 367-372. McCrae, R.R & Costa, PT, Jr (1994) The stability of personality: Observations and evaluations. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 3, 173-175 159 McCrae, R.R & Costa, PT, Jr (1997) Conceptions and correlates of openness to experience. In R Hogan, J Johnson and SR Briggs (Eds)

Handbook of Personality Psychology (pp. 825-847) San Diego (CA): Academic Press McCrae, R.R & Costa, PT, Jr (2006) Personality in adulthood: A five-factor theory perspective (2nd ed.) New York: Guilford Press McCrae, R.R, Jang, KL, Livesley, WJ, Riemann, R & Angleitner, A (2001) Sources of structure: Genetic, environmental, and artifactual influences on the covariation of personality traits. Journal of Personality, 69, 2001 McCrae, R.R & John, OP (1992) An introduction to the five-factor model and its applications. Journal of Personality, 61, 175-215 McKnight, J.D & Glass, DC (1995) Perceptions of control, burnout, and depressive symptomatology: A replication and extension. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63 (3), 490-494. Meier, S.T (1983) Toward a theory of burnout Human Relations, 36, 899-910 Meier, S.T & Schmeck, RR (1985) The burned-out college student: A descriptive profile. Journal of College Student Personnel, 26 (1), 63-69 Mena, C. (2000)

Impact of the supervisory relationship on worker job satisfaction and burnout. Published doctoral dissertation, University of Houston, Texas, United States of America. Meyerson, D.E (1994) Interpretations of stress in institutions: The cultural production of ambiguity and burnout. Administrative Science Quarterly, 39, 628653 160 Michie, S. & Williams, S (2003) Reducing work related psychological ill health and sickness absence: A systematic literature review. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 60 (1), 3-9. Miner, M.H (2007) Burnout in the first year of ministry: Personality and belief style as important predictors. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 10, 17-29 Mischel, W. (1968) Personality and assessment New York: John Wiley & Sons Mischel, W. (1993) Introduction to personality (5th ed) Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Moffat, K.J, McConnachie, A, Ross, S & Morrison, JM (2004) Undergraduate medical education first year medical student stress and

coping in a problembased learning medical curriculum. Medical Education, 38, 482-491 Monk, E.M & Mahmood, Z (1999) Student mental health: A pilot study Counseling Psychology Quarterly, 12, 199-210. Morizot, J. & Le Blanc, M (2003) Continuity and change in personality traits from adolescence to midlife: A 25-year longitudinal study comparing representative and adjudicated men. Journal of Personality, 71, 705-755 Mostert, K., Pienaar, J, Gauché, C & Jackson, LTB (2007) Burnout and engagement in university students: A psychometric analysis of the MBI-SS and UWES-S. South African Journal of Higher Education, 21, 147-162 Mroczek, D.K & Little, TD (Eds) (2006) Handbook of personality development. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum 161 Negga, F., Applewhite, S & Livingstone, I (2007) African American college students and stress: School racial comparison. College Student Journal, 41, 823831 Neumann, Y., Finlay-Neumann & Reichel, A (1990) Determinants and consequences of

students’ burnout in universities. Journal of Higher Education, 61 (1), 20-31. Nunnaly, J.C & Bernstein, IH (1994) Psychometric theory (3rd ed) New York: McGraw-Hill. Pallant, J. (2007) SPSS survival manual (3rd ed) Berkshire: Open University Press. Parker, P.A & Kulik, JA (1995) Burnout, self- and supervisor-rate job performance, and absenteeism among nurses. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 18 (6), 581-599. Patton, W. & Goddard, R (2006) Coping with stress in the Australian job network: Gender differences. Journal of Employment Counseling, 43, 135-144 Peabody, D. (1987) Selecting representative trait adjectives Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 59-71. Pervin, L.A (1994) A critical analysis of current trait theory Psychological Inquiry, 5, 103-113. Pervin, L.A & John, OP (2001) Personality theory and research New York: John Wiley. 162 Piedmont, R.L (1993) A longitudinal analysis of burnout in the health care setting: The role of personal

dispositions. Journal of Personality Assessment, 61, 457-473. Pienaar, J. & Sieberhagen, C (2005) Burnout and engagement of student leaders in a higher education institution. South African Journal of Higher Education, 19, 155-167. Pines, A.M (1993) Burnout: An existential perspective In WB Schaufeli, C Maslach and T. Marek (Eds) Professional burnout Recent developments in theory and research (pp. 33-51) Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis Pines, A. & Aronson, E (1988) Career burnout: Causes and cures New York: The Free Press. Pines, A.M, Aronson, E & Kafry, D (1981) Burnout, from tedium to personal growth. New York: The Free Press Pöhlmann, K., Jonas, I, Ruf, S & Harzer, W (2005) Stress, burnout and health in the clinical period of dental education. European Journal of Dental Education, 9 (2), 78-84. Pulver, A., Allik, J, Pulkkinen, L & Hämäläinen, M (1995) A Big-Five personality inventory in two non-indo European languages. European Journal of Personality, 9,

109-124. Ried, L.D, Motycka, C, Mobley, C & Meldrum, M (2006) Comparing selfreported burnout of pharmacy students on the founding campus with those at distance campuses. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 70 (5), 1-12 163 Roberts, B.W, Caspi, A & Moffitt, TE (2001) The kids are alright: Growth and stability in personality development from adolescence to adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 670-683. Robins, R.W, Fraley, RC, Roberts, BW & Trzesniewski, KH (2001) A longitudinal study of personality change in young adulthood. Journal of Personality, 69, 617-640. Rosenzweig, S. & Fisher, SL (1997) “Idiographic” vis-à-vis “idiodynamic” in the historical perspective of personality theory: Remembering Gordon Allport, 18971997. Journal of the History of the Behavioural Sciences, 33, 405-419 Ross, S., Cleland, J & Macleod, MJ (2006) Stress, debt and undergraduate medical student performance. Medical Education, 40, 584-589

Rothmann, S. (2003) Burnout and engagement: A South African perspective South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 29, 16-25. Rothmann, S. & Essenko, N (2007) Job charactersitcs, optimism, burnout, and ill health of support staff in a higher education institution in South Africa. South African Journal of Psychology, 37 (1), 135-152. Rothmann, S. & Joubert, JHM (2007) Job demands, job resources, burnout and work engagement of managers at a platinum mine in the North West Province. South African Journal of Business Management, 38 (3), 49-61 Rothmann, S. & Malan, H (2003) Koherensiesin, selfdoeltreffendheid, lokus van beheer en uitbranding by maatskaplike werkers. South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 29 (4), 43-51. 164 Rowe, D.C (1997) Genetics, temperament and personality In R Hogan, J Johnson and S.R Briggs (Eds) Handbook of personality psychology (pp 367386) San Diego, CA: Academic Press Ryckman, R.M (1993) Theories of personality (3rd ed) Pacific Grove:

Brooks/Cole. Salanova, M., Llorens, S, García-Renedo, M, Burriel, R, Bresó, E & Schaufeli, W. (2005) Toward a four-dimensional model of burnout A multigroup factoranalytic study including depersonalisation and cynicism Educational and Psychological Measurement, 65 (5), 901-913. Sandström, A., Rhodin, IN, Lundberg, M, Olsson, T & Nyberg, L (2005) Impaired cognitive performance in patients with chronic burnout syndrome. Biological Psychology, 69, 271-279. Santavirta, N., Solovieva, S & Theorell, T (2007) The association between job strain and emotional exhaustion in a cohort of 1,028 Finnish teachers. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 213-228. SAPA (2008, March 21). Tertiary system at capacity News 24, accessed on 25 March 2008 from http://www.news24com Saucier, G. (2002) Orthogonal markers for orthogonal factors: The case of the Big Five. Journal of Research in Personality, 36, 1-31 Sced, M. & Baur, J (2007) Burnout and engagement in police recruits: A

typology. Technical report from the Australasian Centre for Policing Research Accessed on 07/04/2008 from http://www.acprgovau/pdf/ACPR O2pdf, pp 1 12 165 Schaufeli, W.B (2003) Past performance and future perspectives of burnout research. South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 29, 1-15 Schaufeli, W.B & Bakker, AB (2004) Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: A multi-sample study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, 293-315. Schaufeli, W.B & Buunk, BP (2002) Burnout: An overview of 25 years of research and theorizing. In M Schabracq, JAK Winnubst and CC Cooper (Eds.) The handbook of work and health psychology (2nd ed) (pp 282-424), accessed on April 21, 2008 from http://www.schaufelicom Schaufeli, W. & Enzmann, D (1998) The burnout companion to study and practice. A critical analysis London: Taylor & Francis Schaufeli, W.B, Leiter, MP, Maslach, C & Jackson, SE (1996) Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey

(MBI-GS). In C Maslach, SE Jackson and M.P Leiter (Eds) Maslach Burnout Inventory manual (3rd ed) Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. Schaufeli, W.B, Martínez, IA, Pinto, AM, Salanova, M & Bakker, AB (2002) Burnout and engagement in university students. A cross-national study Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33, 464-481. Schaufeli, W.B & Salanova, M (2007) Efficacy or inefficacy, that’s the question: Burnout and work engagement, and their relationship with efficacy beliefs. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 20, 177-196. Schaufeli, W.B, Salanova, M, González-Romá & Bakker, AB (2002) The measurement of engagement and burnout. A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 71-92 166 Schirmer, L.L & Lopez, FG (2001) Probing the social support and work strain relationship among adult workers: Contributions of adult attachment orientations. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 59, 17-33. Seligman, M.EP (2003) Positive

psychology: Fundamental assumptions Psychologist, 16 (3), 126-128. Shirom (1989). Burnout in work organizations In CL Cooper and IT Robertson (Eds.) International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology 1989 (pp. 25-48) Chichester: John Wiley Sieberhagen, C. (2004) Burnout and engagement of student leaders in a higher education institution. Unpublished master’s thesis, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa. Smith, L.M (1998) Die insidensie van uitbrandingsindroom by sielkundiges in Suid-Afrika [The incidence of the burnout syndrome among psychologists in South Africa]. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa. Spector, P.E & Oconnell, BJ (1994) The contribution of personality traits, negative affectivity, locus of control and Type A to the subsequent reports of job stressors and job strains. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 67, 1-11. Srivastava, S., John, OP, Gosling, SD & Potter, J

(2003) Development of personality in early and middle adulthood: Set like plaster or persistent change? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 1041-1053. Stelmack, R.M & Stalkis, A (1991) Galen and the humour theory of temperament. Personality and Individuals Differences, 12, 255-263 167 Storm, K. & Rothmann, S (2003) The relationship between burnout, personality traits and coping strategies in a corporate pharmaceutical group. South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 29, 35-42. Strümpfer, D.JW (2003) Resilience and burnout: A stitch that could save nine South African Journal of Psychology, 33 (2), 69-69. Tabachnick, B.G & Fidell, LS (1983) Using multivariate statistics New York: Harper & Row. Tabachnick, B.G & Fidell, LS (2001) Using multivariate statistics (4th ed) New York: Harper Collins. Taris, T.W, Schreurs, G & Schaufeli, WB (1999) Construct validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey: A two sample examination of its

factor structure and correlates. Work & Stress, 13 (1), 223-237 Taylor, N. (2004) The construction of a South African five-factor personality questionnaire. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa. Taylor, N. & De Bruin, GP (2006) Basic Traits Inventory Johannesburg: Jopie van Rooyen. Tellegen, A. (1993) Folk concepts and psychological concepts of personality and personality disorder. Psychological Inquiry, 4, 122-130 Thompson, D. (Ed) (1998) Oxford dictionary of current English Oxford: Oxford University Press. 168 Thomson, L. (2007) The relationship between personality traits and life balance: A quantitative study in the South African corporate sector. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa. Tomic, W., Tomic, DM & Evers, WJG (2004) A question of burnout among reformed church ministers in the Netherlands. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 7, 225-247. Trapnell, P.D (1994)

Openness versus intellect: A lexical left turn European Journal of Personality, 8, 273-290. Tully, A. (2004) Stress, sources of stress and ways of coping among psychiatric nursing students. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health, 11, 43-47 Tupes, E.C & Christal, RC (1961/1992) Recurrent personality factors based on trait ratings. Journal of Personality, 60, 225-251 Urbina, S. (2004) Essentials of psychological testing Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Van Dick, R. & Wagner, U (2001) Stress and strain in teaching: A structural equation approach. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 243-259 Van der Linden, D., Keijsers, GPJ, Eling, P & van Schaijk, R (2005) Work stress and attentional difficulties: An initial study on burnout and cognitive failures. Work & Stress, 19 (1), 23-36 Van Dyk, A. (2005) HIVAIDS care & counselling A multidisciplinary approach Cape Town: Maskew Miller Longman. 169 Viswesvaren, C., Sanchez, JI & Fisher, J (1999) The role of social

support in the process of work stress: A meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54, 313-334. Watson, D. & Clark, LA (1992) On traits and temperament: General and specific factors of emotional experience and their relation to the five-factor model. Journal of Personality, 60, 441-476. Watson, D. & Clark, LA (1997) Extroversion and its positive emotional core In R. Hogan, J Johnson and SR Briggs (Eds) Handbook of personality psychology (pp. 767-793) San Diego, CA: Academic Press Weckwerth, A.C & Flynn, DM (2006) Effect of sex on perceived support and burnout in university students. College Student Journal, 40 (2), 237-250 Wiggins, J.S & Trapnell, PD (1997) Personality structure: The return of the Big Five. In R Hogan, J Johnson and SR Briggs (Eds) Handbook of personality psychology (pp. 737-765) San Diego (CA): Academic Press Willcock, S.M, Daly, MG, Tennant, CC & Allard, BJ (2004) Burnout and psychiatric morbidity in new medical graduates. Medical Journal of

Australia, 181 (7), 357-360. Willemse, S.A (2006) Burnout, coping and engagement in the hospitality industry. Unpublished master’s thesis, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa. Wolfaardt, J.B & Roodt, G (2005) Basic concepts In C Foxcroft and G Roodt (Eds.) An introduction to psychological assessment in the South African context (2nd ed.) (pp 24-43) Cape Town: Oxford University Press 170 Wright, T.A & Bonett, DG (1997) The contribution of burnout to work performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 18 (5), 491-499 Wu, K.D & Clark, LA (2003) Relations between personality traits and selfreports of daily behaviour Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 231-256 Wu, S., Zhu, W Wang, Z Wang, M & Lan, Y (2007) Relationship between burnout and occupational stress among nurses in China. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 59 (3), 233-239. Wundt, W. (1893) Grunzüge der Psysiologischen Psychologie [Principles of physiological psychology] (Vol. 2, 4th ed) Leipzig:

Wilhelm Engelmann Wundt, W. (1904) Principles of physiological psychology (Vol 1, 5th ed) (EB Titchener, Trans.) London: Swan Sonnenschein (Original work published 1902) Xanthopoulou, D., Bakker, AB, Demerouti, E & Schaufeli, WB (2007) The role of personal resources in the job demands-resources model. International Journal of Stress Management, 14 (2), 121-141. Yang, K.S & Bond, MH (1990) Exploring implicit personality theories with indigenous or imported constructs: The Chinese case. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 1087-1095. Zellars, K.L, Perrewé, PL & Hochwarter, WA (2000) Burnout in health care: The role of the five factors of personality. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 1570-1598. Zhang, L.F & Abedowale, A (2002) What relates to the Big Five among South African university students? IFE Psychologia: An International Journal, 10, 4974. 171 Zuroff, D.C (1986) Was Gordon Allport a trait theorist? Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology, 51 (5), 993-1000. 172