Factorial validity of the Maslach Burnout inventory - Dutch version (MBI-NL) among dentists

Burnout is considered to be a long-term reaction to occupational stress. It is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminishe d personal accomplishment. The most widely used instrument to measure burno ut is the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), developed by Maslach and Jackson (1986). From this instrument, Schaufeli and van Dierendonck (1995a) develo ped a somewhat modified Dutch version: the MBI-NL. Burnout among dentists h as hardly been studied. Since the professions that the MBI-NL was developed upon are quite different from dentistry, the aim of this study was to test the three-factor structure of the MBI-NL against alternative structures am ong dentists. Both principal components analysis (PCA) and confirmatory fac tor analysis (CFA) were examined in a representative sample of 709 Dutch ge neral dental practitioners (75 per cent response rate). The three-factor st ructure shows the best fit to the underlying data, while other psychometric qualities are very satisfactory. It is concluded that the three-factor str ucture of the MBI-NL is superior to alternative structures, and that the MB I-NL is a highly suitable instrument to measure burnout among dentists. Cop yright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.