The Preventive Effects of Social Support on Burnout among Nurses: The Relations between Burnout and the Number of Social Supports, Satisfaction with Supports and Support Resources

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of social support on burnout among nurses. A total of 488 nurses, working at four different hospitals, was surveyed. A modified version of SSQ was used to measure the degree of social support while MBI was used to determine the extent of burnout. The following results were obtained: 1. The major support resources for nurses in their everyday life were the mother, other family members, and the spouses. Co-workers were selected as the main support resource for problems specifically related to difficulties at the workplaces or dealing with nursing in general. 2. There was a positive correlation between the number of network members and the degree of satisfaction with network members. 3. The correlation between number and burnout, as well as that between satisfaction and burnout, was negative. The former was relatively weaker. 4. Nurses who received greater support from their supervisor (leadership M behavior) felt a lesser degree of burnout as did those who established stronger relationships with doctors or patients. Those who believed that patients relied on them extensively showed lower levels of burnout. Each social support variable played a different role in moderating the three component symptoms of burnout-depersonalization, low estimation of personal accomplishment, and emotional exhaustion.