The Moderating Role of Coping Strategies in Occupational Stress and Burnout among Mental Health Practitioners in Pakistan

Abstract

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The current study was aimed to observe the moderating role of coping strategies in occupational stress and burnout among mental health practitioners. It was also aimed to examine the relationship of demographic factors with occupational stress, burnout and coping strategies. Data was collected from 200 mental health practitioners (clinical psychologists and psychiatrists) from different government and private hospitals and rehabilitation centers situated in different cities of Pakistan. Three scales were used in the research, that is, Mental Health Professional Stress Scale to measure occupational stress, Brief Cope to measure coping strategies and Maslcah Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey to assess burnout. The results indicated that there is a strong positive correlation between occupational stress, burnout and emotion focused coping strategies. The analyses showed that coping strategies did not moderate the relation between occupational stress and burnout. In demographic variables, the variables of age, education, experience and work hours were significant. Younger mental health practitioners scored high on occupational stress, burnout and use of emotion focused coping strategies than older ones. In qualification and experience, less qualified and less experienced practitioners had more occupational stress, burnout and used emotion focused coping strategies than more qualified and more experienced practitioners. Those practitioners whose working hours were less had low occupational stress and burnout and used problem focused coping strategies.