Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T20:30:35.680Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Empathic Process and Misconceptions that Lead to Burnout in Healthcare Professionals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 December 2017

Marta Villacieros ,
Ricardo Olmos  and
José Carlos Bermejo
Marta Villacieros*
Affiliation:
Centro de Humanización de la Salud (Spain)
Ricardo Olmos
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
José Carlos Bermejo
Affiliation:
Centro de Humanización de la Salud (Spain)
*
*Corresponding concerning this article should be addressed to Marta Villacieros. Departamento de Investigación del Centro de Humanización de la Salud. Sector Escultores, 39. Tres Cantos. 28760 Madrid (Spain). E-mail: investigacion@humanizar.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Empathy has been identified as a relevant variable in order to predict burnout in healthcare professionals. In addition, assertiveness and self-esteem have been considered relevant variables to develop empathic capacity. In the other hand, misconceptions surrounding empathy constitute a risk factor for burnout. Two adult samples (N = 252 and N = 275) were used to explore and confirm the underlying structure of two questionnaires. The Exercise of Process of Empathy (EPE) scale (18 items) confirmatory factor analysis including 5 dimensions (cognitive and emotional comprehension, attention, clarity and assertiveness), showed reasonable goodness- of-fit indices χ2(130) = 269.63, p < .001; RMSEA = .069 90% CI [0.058 – 0.079]; CFI = .965; TLI = .959. Alpha coefficient resulted .848. Common Misconceptions (EH) of empathy scale (16 items) confirmatory factor analysis, including 3 dimensions (feeling, confluence and character misconceptions) also obtained reasonable goodness-of-fit indices χ2(101) = 250.59, p < .001; RMSEA = .075 90% CI [0.063 – 0.087]; CFI = .952; TLI = .943. Alpha coefficient for Character resulted .727 (5 items), for Confluence .764 (5 items) and for Feeling .822 (6 items). The SEM model’s R2 resulted .303, being EH (misconceptions) a risk factor (b* = .171), EPE (empathy process) a protection factor (b* = –.183). The model partially explains how misconceptions empathy process and self-esteem (b* = –.334) relate to burnout syndrome in healthcare professionals; what is more, it heralds a potential means to prevent it.

Keywords

burnoutempathyempathic processempathy misconceptionshealthcare professionals
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 20 , 2017 , E68
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

How to cite this article:

Villacieros, M., Olmos, R., & Bermejo, J.C. (2017). The empathic process and misconceptions that lead to burnout in healthcare professionals. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 20. e68. Doi:10.1017/sjp.2017.66

References

Abad, F. J., Olea, J., Ponsoda, V., & García, C. (2011). Medición en ciencias sociales y de la salud [Measuring health and social sciences]. Madrid, Spain: Editorial Síntesis.Google Scholar
Alberti, R. E., & Emmons, M. L. (1998). Atılganlık Hakkınızı Kullanın [Use your assertiveness]. Ankara, Turkey: HYB Publicaciones Google Scholar
Álvarez, E., & Fernández, L. (1991). El síndrome de Burnout o el desgaste profesional (I): Revisión de estudios [Burnout Syndrome or professional wear (I): Review of studies]. Revista Asociación Española de Neuropsiquiatría XI, 39, 257– 265.Google Scholar
Appelhans, B. M., & Luecken, L. J. (2006). Heart rate variability as an index of regulated emotional responding. Review of General Psychology, 10, 229–240. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.10.3.229 Google Scholar
Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. J. (2004). The Empathy Quotient: An investigation of adults with Asperger Syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34(2), 163–175. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JADD.0000022607.19833.00 Google Scholar
Batson, C. D. (1991). The altruism question: Toward a social psychological answer. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Bentler, P. M. (1989). EQS Structural Equations Program Manual. Los Angeles, CA: BMDP Statistical Software Google Scholar
Bermejo, J. C. (2012). La empatía terapéutica. [Therapeutic empathy] Bilbao, Spain: Desclee De Brouwer, S.A.Google Scholar
Bermejo, J. C., Villacieros, M., & Carabias, R. (2013). Diseño y fiabilidad de una escala sobre la idea de empatía. Diferencias entre profesiones sanitarias y sociales [Design and reliability of a scale on the idea of empathy. Differences between health and social professions]. Acción Psicológica, 100(2), 143–156. https://doi.org/10.5944/ap.10.2.12217 Google Scholar
Blasco, J. R. (2002). Relación entre la calidad del sueño, el burnout y el bienestar psicológico en profesionales de la seguridad ciudadana [Relationship between the quality of the dream, the burnout and the welfare psychological in professionals of the security citizen]. Revista Mapfre Medicina, 13(4), 258–268.Google Scholar
Borrell, F. (2011). Empatía, un valor troncal en la práctica clínica [Empathy, a core value in clinical practice]. Medicina Clínica, 136(9), 390–397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medcli.2009.06.032 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, T. A. (2006). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Cathébras, P., Begon, A., Laporte, S., Bois, C., & Truchot, D. (2004). Burn out among French general practitioners. Pressent Medicine, 18(33), 1569–1574.Google Scholar
Coutinho, J. F., Silva, P. O., & Decety, J. (2014). Neurosciences, empathy, and healthy interpersonal relationships: Recent findings and implications for counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 61(4), 541–548. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000021 Google Scholar
Davis, M. H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidimensional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 113–126. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.44.1.113 Google Scholar
Davis, M. H. (2006). Empathy. In Stets, J. E. & Turner, J. H. (Eds.), Handbook of the Sociology of Emotions. (pp. 443–466). Riverside, CA: Springer.Google Scholar
Díaz, M. I., Ruiz, M. A., & Villalobos, A. (2012). El proceso en terapia de conducta: La evaluación conductual [The process in therapy of conduct: Behavioral assessment]. In Ruiz, M. A., Díaz, M. I., & Villalobos, A.. (Eds.), Manual de técnicas de intervención cognitivo conductual [Manual of cognitive behavioral intervention techniques] (pp. 99–152). Bilbao, Spain: Desclée de Brouwer Google Scholar
Fernández-Berrocal, P., Extremera, N., & Ramos, N (2004). Validity and reliability of the Spanish Modified Version of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale. Psychological Reports, 94, 751–755. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.94.3.751-755 Google Scholar
Gil-Monte, P. R., García-Juesas, J. A., & Caro Hernández, M. (2008). Influencia de la sobrecarga laboral y la autoeficacia sobre el Síndrome de Quemarse por el Trabajo (burnout) en profesionales de enfermería [Influence of the overload work and the self-efficacy on the syndrome of burnout in nursing professionals]. Revista Interamericana de Psicología, 42, 113–118.Google Scholar
González-Cabanach, R., Souto-Gestal, A. J., Fernández-Cervantes, R., & González-Doniz, L. (2016). La autoestima como variable protectora del burnout en estudiantes de fisioterapia [Self esteem as a protective factor against burnout in students of physiotherapy]. Estudios sobre Educación, 30, 95–113. https://doi.org/10.15581/004.30.95-113 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobfoll, S. E., & Freedy, J. (1993). Conservation of resources: A general stress theory applied to burnout. In Schaufeli, W. B., Maslach, C., & Marek, T. (Eds.), Professional burnout: Recent developments in theory and research (pp. 115–129). Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
Hogan, R. (1969). Development of an empathy scale. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 33, 307–316. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0027580 Google Scholar
Hojat, M., Louis, D. Z., Markham, F. W., Wender, R., Rabinowitz, C., & Gonnella, J. S. (2011). Physicians’ empathy and clinical outcomes for diabetic patients. Academic Medicine, 86, 359–364. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e3182086fe1 Google Scholar
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1998). Fit indices in covariance structure modeling: Sensitivity to underparameterized model misspecification. Psychological Methods, 3, 424–453. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082–989X.3.4.424 Google Scholar
Lamothe, M., Boujut, E., Zenasni, F., & Sultan, S. (2014). To be or not to be empathic: The combined role of empathic concern and perspective taking in understanding burnout in general practice. BMC Family Practice, 15, 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2296-15-15 Google Scholar
Lee, S. M., Cho, S. H., Kissinger, D., & Ogle, N. T. (2010). A typology of burnout in professional counselors. Journal of Counseling& Development, 88,131–138. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2010.tb00001.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
López-Pérez, B., Fernández-Pinto, I. & Abad, F. J. (2008) TECA. Test de Empatía Cognitiva y Afectiva [TECA. Cognitive and Affective Empathy Test]. Madrid, Spain: Tea Ediciones, S.A.Google Scholar
Martín-Albo, J., Núñez, J. L., Navarro, J. G., & Grijalvo, F., (2007). The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: Translation and validation in university students. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 10(2), 458–467. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1138741600006727 Google Scholar
Mehrabian, A., & Epstein, N. (1972). A measure of emotional empathy. Journal of Personality, 40, 525–543. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1972.tb00078.x Google Scholar
Morante Benadero, M. E., Moreno Jiménez, B., & Rodríguez Muñoz, A. (2006). Professional Satisfaction and Fatigue Subscales - version IV (ProQOL). Traducción del instrumento de evaluación al español. [Professional Satisfaction and Fatigue Subscales - version IV (ProQOL). Spanish translation of the instrument]. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. Retrieved from http://www.proqol.org/uploads/ProQol_vIV_Spanish_Oct05.pdf Google Scholar
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2012). Mplus user’s guide. Los Ángeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.Google Scholar
Pérez-Albéniz, A., de Paúl, J., Etxeberría, J., Montes, M. P., & Torres, E. (2003) Adaptación de Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) al español [Spanish adaptation of Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)]. Psicothema, 15(2), 267–272.Google Scholar
Rosen, I. M., Gimotty, P. A., Shea, J. A. & Bellini, L. M. (2006) Evolution of sleep quantity, sleep deprivation, mood disturbances, empathy, and burnout among interns. Academic Medicine, 81, 82–85. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-200601000-00020 Google Scholar
Singer, T., Critchley, H. D., & Preuschoff, K. (2009). A common role of insula in feelings, empathy and uncertainty. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 13, 334–340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2009.05.001 Google Scholar
Suzuki, E., Saito, M., Tagaya, A., Mihara, R., Maruyama, A., Azuma, T., & Sato, C. (2009). Relationship between assertiveness and burnout among nurse managers. Japan Journal of Nursing Science, 6 (2), 71–81. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-7924.2009.00124.x Google Scholar
Teding van Berkhout, E., & Malouff, J. M. (2016). The efficacy of empathy training: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63, 32–41. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000093 Google Scholar
Tomas, J. M., & Oliver, A. (1999) Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale: Two factors or method effects. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 84–98, https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540120 Google Scholar
Yu, G., Wang, Y., & Liu, C. (2012). Improving public service quality from a developmental perspective: empathy, attachment and gender differences. Public Personnel Management, 41(5), 9–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/009102601204100502 Google Scholar