CROSSOVER OF STRESS, STRAIN AND RESOURCES FROM ONE SPOUSE TO ANOTHER

The main focus of the study was the crossover of burnout and of coping resources from husbands to wives and vice versa. The study was carrie d out on 101 couples, male military officers and their wives, who were randomly selected by the Israel Defense Force computer. They filled o ut questionnaires that measured their level of burnout, job stress, wo rk support, family support concerning work problems, and their sense o f control. Findings reveal that the husbands' sense of control and bur nout were positively related to the corresponding variables measured f or their wives. To establish the crossover effect, the theoretical mod el was tested by structural equation analysis (LISREL), which showed a positive effect of wives' burnout on husbands' burnout, after control ling for the husbands' own job stress and coping resources. The husban ds' burnout likewise affected their wives' burnout. Thus, a crossover of burnout was exhibited from husbands to wives and vice versa. Furthe rmore, for both sexes, sense of control had the highest impact on thei r own burnout and on their spouse's burnout, after controlling for the ir own job stress and resources. Thus, the spouse's sense of control w as found to be an additional resistance resource working to the benefi t of the other partner. The relevance of these findings to burnout pre vention is discussed.