PSYCHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE INTERRELATION BETWEEN EMPATHY AND EMOTIONAL BURNOUT IN ADULTS
Keywords:
emotional burnout, empathy, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, psychological resilience, burnout prevention, psycho-emotional adaptation.Abstract
The article presents the results of an empirical study of the relationship between empathy and emotional burnout in adults in the context of modern social challenges, which is typical for Ukrainian society in the context of prolonged military aggression, which contributes to psychological exhaustion. The article is focused on determining the nature, strength, and peculiarities of the relationship between the level of empathy and emotional burnout (in particular, its components such as emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation). The study involved 49 respondents aged 18 to 75 with at least one year of professional or educational experience. A. Mehrabian and M. Epstein’s questionnaire “Diagnosis of Empathy” and K. Maslach’s questionnaire “Professional Burnout”, which contain three scales: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and professional achievement, were used for diagnostics. Correlation analysis using Spearman's coefficient, as well as partial correlation analysis with controlling for age and gender, showed the presence of a statistically significant relationship between empathy and burnout. The study revealed a significant correlation - a negative relationship between empathy and a separate component of emotional burnout, emotional exhaustion, which partially persists after controlling for age. Age differences were found in empathy, while gender differences were insignificant. Principal component analysis with Varimax rotation allowed us to identify two latent factors, including a separate factor “Emotional resource”, which combined empathy and emotional exhaustion in opposite poles. This indicates the relative autonomy of empathy in relation to burnout manifestations, which allows us to consider empathy as a potential buffering factor rather than a consequence of burnout. The practical significance lies in the development of preventive programmes based on the development of empathic competencies and emotional support programmes for professionals working in the fields of education and medicine.
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