Coping strategies and burnout among veteran child protection workers

Objectives: First, to learn how veteran (2 years or more) child protective service (CPS) investigations workers cope with job stress; and secondly, to examine the relationship between coping strategies and levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and sense of reduced personal accomplishmen t (burnout syndrome). Method: Cross-sectional. self-report methodology was used to measure coping strategies and the burnout syndrome. The voluntary subjects were 151 front -line CPS workers with at least 2 years experience in a southeastern Depart ment of Social Services. They attended one of nine stress management worksh ops provided in various locations around the state. Quantitative analyses w ere run on the data. Results: These workers perceived themselves to use Engaged (active) coping strategies more than Disengaged (avoidant) strategies. Sixty-two percent of participants scored in the high range on Emotional Exhaustion, the aspect some researchers consider to be the heart of Burnout. Those who used Engage d coping were less likely to feel depersonalized and more likely to feel a sense of personal accomplishment. Those who used Disengaged coping were mor e likely to feel emotionally exhausted, depersonalized, and to have a sense of reduced personal accomplishment. Conclusion: Neither the use of active nor avoidant coping strategies saved these workers from Emotional Exhaustion. The problem-focused strategies the y are taught and use most do not help deal with the emotional content and c ontext of their work, suggesting the use of emotion-focused coping to preve nt and remediate burnout. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.